


Seven Days

by 3431jess, crackersme



Category: Kung Fu Panda - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Collab, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 01:39:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8870791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3431jess/pseuds/3431jess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/crackersme/pseuds/crackersme
Summary: And not a day more...





	1. Day 1

_Po_

"It's just a scratch. Right, Dad?"

Li Shan's frown looked plastered to his face. He didn't answer, just kept dabbing carefully at the gash on Po's upper arm. Every inch of his washcloth was stained red by now. Po was bleeding a lot more than he expected to for such a shallow wound.

"C'mon, don't be mad at me," he said. "These things happen, it's part of my job. And it doesn't even hurt anymore." It stopped hurting a while ago, even before Po and his team arrived back in the Valley. That didn't matter to Li Shan—the second he caught sight of the bloody strip of cloth around Po's left arm (a makeshift bandage donated from Tigress' bindings), he snapped into healer-mode.

Po insisted that he could wait to see the physician up at the Palace. He might've been able to convince one dad to let him go, but not both at the same time. When Mr. Ping saw his injury, he essentially dragged Po into his old bedroom, sat his son down and left to make some food.

Li Shan finished cleaning the wound and let the washcloth drop to the floor. Po waited, expecting his dad to reach for some gauze or paste or whatever else he had in the little healing kit he'd laid out on the bed. But for a few long moments, the old panda just stared at Po's arm.

"Dad?"

Li Shan jumped, as if the low murmur Po used to get his attention had really startled him. "Sorry, Son, I was just thinking... when did you say that rogue sliced you?"

Po shrugged. "Only about an hour ago." That crafty jerk in the mask ran for it right after he daggered Po. By now, Masky was probably miles away. Po decided it was mostly his fault the guy escaped. If he hadn't cried out in pain, he wouldn't have distracted Tigress, and she would've tackled the rogue before he could slip past her.

Oh well. Po and the Five were sure to take him down next time, if he was foolish enough to come terrorise the Valley citizens again. "Why, what does 'when' matter?" Po asked.

Li Shan leaned forward to inspect the wound for the hundredth time that evening. "It's a little too soon for anything to show up but... looks like an infection is setting in."

"Oh great," Po said. He looked down at the wound himself. His dad had a point—the flesh around the wound was looking a little more purple than it needed to.

This would be fun to deal with. He shook his head, tempted to just ask for a chi healing right now. But Shifu told everyone not to use chi for non-life-threatening injuries. He said it was wise to not rely on the supernatural all the time, to remember pain and the limits of the body. If a warrior lost sight of those things, they'd quickly become shortsighted and reckless, Shifu said.

Well... Shifu wasn't here. By now though, the Five probably already told him about Po's wound when they left him behind to go make their report. It was, after all, a novelty that someone could actually get the drop on Po. He sighed. "Yeah, okay, well I'll have medicines if you can gimme 'em, Dad. And I promise I'll remember to take them."

He held his paw out expectantly. But Li Shan still didn't do much more than stare at his son's arm.

"Da~ad," Po sang. "Thanks for helping me out. But y'know I've been really busy with kung fu duties lately, there's still some stuff I gotta sort out before bedtime, so if you could gimme what I need, I'll get going."

Po tried to stand up, but his dad grabbed his good arm and guided him back down again. Li Shan's face broke out into worry.

"Wait just a moment, please, Son." He looked around himself and checked his pockets. "I just want to check something..."

After a few moments, he pulled a scroll from his kit and unravelled it. It rolled out across Po's lap, showing him pictures of various not-very-interesting-looking roots and leaves.

Li Shan skimmed down the scroll, muttering to himself for a few moments. When he came to a certain section, he froze, staring at what was on the page with wide eyes.

"What's the matter?" Po asked. He shifted over so he could read over Li Shan's shoulder.

The section was titled, _Slow-Acting and Lethal Poisons_.

"What...?" Po said. He laughed. "I haven't been poisoned! I think I'd know if I—"

Li Shan grabbed his bad arm and dragged it close to himself, so he could compare Po's wound to the one drawn on the page. "No," Li Shan murmured. "No, no, no..."

"Dad, it's fine." Po pulled his arm back. "I feel totally normal, and anyway, when would I have—"

"A poison-tipped blade," Li Shan said. His face turned pale.

Po thought carefully. He did remember the others thinking it was weird that the rogue had attacked the houses farthest away from the village centre, as if he was deliberately trying to draw the heroes out. And he hadn't stolen anything. And when they fought him, he didn't pay much attention to the Five. His focus had been on Po.

He shook his head. "It's fine. So what if I'm poisoned? We can all heal here, remember?" He held out his injury to his dad. "Just gimme a little glow and I'll be a-okay."

Li Shan took a slightly shaky breath and cupped his paws together. Golden light soon filled the room, and the old panda quickly pressed his shining palms to Po's arm.

The chi felt good, nice and soothing. At first. After a few seconds, Po's wound began to prickle. The prickle grew into an itch, and then actual pain.

Chi never felt like that. Po held out for as long as he could. When his arm felt like it was burning, he recoiled and yelled, "Wait, wait, hold up!"

Li Shan took his paws away and looked at Po in terror. "No... it didn't work!" he cried.

Po looked down to see that he was right. If anything, the wound looked worse now.

They spent the next few moments just looking at each other, trying to figure out what this meant, when the sound of padded feet smacked against the floorboards just outside the door.

Mr. Ping stuck his scowling face around the doorway of Po's room. "What's going on up here, why are you two yelling?" When he caught sight of the pandas' faces, his expression softened and he waddled farther into the room. "What's wrong?"

Li Shan stammered a little as he said, "Maybe it didn't work because I did something wrong. Dad, use your chi on Po's wound."

Mr. Ping blinked a few times, then scampered to his son's side.

He glowed up, brought his wings to Po's arm, and this time Po could barely stand a few seconds of chi before he backed away, shaking his head. "That _really_ doesn't feel like it's working!"

Mr. Ping looked back and forth between the pandas. "Somebody tell me now, what's going on?"

Li Shan's face screwed up. He didn't look at the other two, and instead rested his eyes on his herbs scroll. Mr. Ping picked it up and found the spot Li Shan was fixed on.

He turned aghast as he read. "Does... has Po been poisoned? With this?"

"With what?" Po said and came to Mr. Ping's side. He saw a picture of a very ugly purple plant, like beetroot but not appetising in any way. It was over the description that began with _Muracan, or the Violet Heartbreak_.

Mr. Ping was slightly ahead of Po in reading, and suddenly turned to Li Shan. "This is _lethal?_ How lethal?"

Po looked up, but Li Shan still couldn't look him in the eyes. "It... the toxin of this plant will stop the heart after, at most, a week."

"Seven days...?" Mr. Ping said weakly. He turned to Po and leapt on his belly, giving him the tightest hug he could. "Tell me there's some kind of antidote for it, Li!"

Tears formed in the old panda's eyes. "This... is one of the few poisons with no known antidote."

"No!" Mr. Ping wailed.

"No," Po said calmly. "I can't die from getting poisoned. I've gotta be here, I have to protect the Valley, and China. I'm way too busy for this. Goodnight, Dads, I'm going back to the Palace."

He got up and walked a few paces to the doorway before Li Shan stopped him. Po turned back and found the tears had escaped Li Shan's eyes and were rolling down his cheeks.

"Son, please understand. You need to lay down and rest. If you're up, the poison will spread through your body faster. Please..."

"Dad, I can't stay," Po said gently, as if he wasn't the invalid here. "Tigress, she'll still be up. So I can't keep her waiting... I can't..." Tears suddenly burned the back of his eyes. "Can't just _die_ like this."

Mr. Ping straightened up. "You're right, Son. You won't die. We'll find an antidote for you, or else we'll invent one ourselves. Isn't that right, Dad?"

"...That's right," Li Shan said, his voice thick. He pulled Po into a hug, and Mr. Ping jumped up to join in.

"Thank you," Po muttered into a collection of shoulder fur and feathers. "You're the best dads in the world. And I understand, about not being up, but I really need to go to Tigress, okay?"

His parents let him wriggle out of their arms. He was crossing the threshold of his room when he had a thought, and looked back.

"Dads, would you do me a favour?"

"Anything, Son," they said in unison.

"I don't wanna tell anyone about this. They'll all... freak out."

Their mouths fell open. "No one?" Li Shan asked. "Not even your teacher or your friends?"

Po shook his head. "Please. If... the worst happens—"

"Which it won't," Mr. Ping said boldly.

"But if it _does_ ," Po said. "I don't wanna spend my last week... with everyone just... sad over me. You get it?"

The dads looked at each other, then turned to him and nodded. "We can understand that," Li Shan said, "but you do need to tell Tigress."

"I can't," Po said quietly.

"She's your wife, Po," Mr. Ping told him.

Po felt a sudden wave of irritation. Yes, she was his wife. He knew that. And he also knew what this would do to her if she found out. Because he knew her better than anyone. She was his number one, always and forever, and he was hers.

He felt like yelling, but that wouldn't be kind or helpful, or make him feel better. So he said again, "I can't." He picked up the wrappings Tigress gave him, and left before his parents could drag him back into their arms. He was a responsible adult now. He had a wife to go back to. And two children, he and Tigress recently adopted Bao and Lei Lei. He had a family to be there for, for as long as he could.

xxxxx

Po didn't actually go home right away. Maybe it was stupid, but he needed to walk for a little bit, to clear his head. He rewrapped his wound as he scaled the Palace mountain, and when he was near the top, he watched the sun set over the village. He should've paid more attention to sunsets, he should've watched each one, and each sunrise too. Lazy lie-ins weren't worth missing beauty like this.

It was the dead of night by the time he did come home—far too late to do any work, but he was past caring about that. He looked over the house, properly considering it for the first time in a long while.

It was a lovely little thing, and it still felt new with its fancy wood polish and unweathered roof. It stood down the path from the Palace dojo and the students' barracks, just close enough for convenience but far enough away for privacy. Po and Tigress had only been living together here a little while, and it was already the best sanctuary Po had ever found.

Tigress had left a lantern on for him. Po needed to remember to thank her for that. It was a little gesture, but something he really needed at that moment.

It was difficult, he found, to go in. He didn't know if he wanted Tigress to be awake still or already asleep—to see her eyes or listen to her slumbering. Either one would bring him a little peace, he decided.

Po turned out the light, stuck his head in Bao and Lei Lei's rooms to check on them, then went to Tigress. She was halfway between asleep and awake, curled up on their bed with her eyes closed. Po heard a hum of acknowledgement when he sat down beside her.

"How's your arm?" Tigress murmured, in a tone that sounded more like muscle memory than conscious thought.

Po tugged his feet up and laid himself down beside her. He shuffled until he could curl his arms around her and snuggle up against her back.

"Po?" she said, sounding more awake.

"What? Oh..."

He almost blurted out the truth, just on reflex. He had never told a lie in his marital bed. But he had never told an ugly truth either.

"It's fine. Li'l bit itchy, but fine."

Tigress nodded, the fur on the back of her head brushing Po's cheek. "I'm glad."

He barely heard her. He didn't realise he hadn't said anything back, like normal, until Tigress said, "Po?" again.

"Yeah?" he said, impressed with himself. His voice was very level, considering the rush of thoughts in his head.

"Is something bothering you?"

He had been trying hard to keep his emotions down, but her simple words unlocked them in a heartbeat. He was suddenly terrified. Not of death or dying. Warriors didn't have the same understanding of those things that regular people did. But in a week or less, he might be gone forever. He might leave his kids without a father.

He might make Tigress a widow. And she was strong. She had been alone before. She could survive without him, and she would. That didn't mean she didn't need him.

How could he just leave her?

"I'm fine, honey," he forced himself to say. "Just tired."

Tigress hummed in empathy—exhaustion was certainly something she knew as well as he did, or better. "Then rest easy. Goodnight, my panda."

She fell asleep very quickly, which was normal when Po was holding her in his arms. He was glad she didn't turn around and look at him. Maybe he could lie with his tongue, but he couldn't lie with his eyes. Tigress would've forced the truth out of him, and then he wouldn't have this one little moment of peace.

However short-lived it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you ani-dragmire of tumblr for giving permission to use your OC Qiang's likeness in this story ^^


	2. Day 2

_Tigress_

"Mum...!"

Almost instinctively, Tigress' eyes snapped open. The village gong no longer sounded where they lived, but its replacement was actually worse. If she didn't listen, it would just keep going.

Like now.

"Mum...!!"

Judging by the tune of the voice, Tigress knew it was probably just another petty squabble between her children. Sluggishly, she turned over and stretched her unwilling paw out to reach the creature she'd slept beside for the last five years.

There was no one on the other side of the bed. It was cold... her husband had left early.

Tigress sighed. This was happening more often recently. Po would disappear for work, leaving her to fend for herself against a wave of house chores and two rowdy hellions that seemed to push her buttons every minute with their incessant chirping.

Usually, she was the first to wake up, to help Po with breakfast and dress the kids for school. But these past two weeks, she's been assailed by weird, unexplainable laziness and constant fatigue―which she quickly accounted lack of sleep to. It wasn't all that surprising, now she thought about it—she had been helping Po with political correspondence every single night.

His gradual rise to fame as China's mighty defender had created more and more assignments for him. While the duties of his job rose exponentially, he still only had two hands and two legs, which meant he had to work harder than ever―from going on usual missions, meetings, training and teaching. Often times, he had to stay overnight elsewhere, or rise before the sun cast its golden spell on the horizon. As a supportive wife, Tigress tried her best to aid him in any way she could. But she couldn't deny, his lack of presence was putting a strain on the family.

"MUM...!!! Bao did something naughty!" She heard Lei Lei's whining squeal. The urge to scold the two pandas was getting harder to curb, but Tigress kept her peace by taking a few calming breaths. She repeated the mantra that once she knew, _"...Being a mother is full of wonder_."

 _Yes, I wonder when they will grow up to stop bothering me._ She chuckled to herself.

Her mind went back to her days in Bao Gu Orphanage. From childhood to adolescence, and even early adulthood, she often had a nightmare of being left alone and unwanted. But for the last three years, someone needed her, called on her every five minutes, even watched her taking a bath or squatting in the toilet (yes, Lei Lei was two and Bao was three back then). It was no wonder that the idea of being left alone and unwanted was now rather... attractive sometimes.

Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud slam, and two monochromatic fur balls barged into what she regarded as her 'only place of privacy' left. Well, maybe not, perhaps now she was only left with the closet as an option.

"Bao said I'm fat and ugly!" Lei Lei said, pointing accusingly at her brother.

"You _are_ fat and ugly," Bao said, blowing a raspberry at his sister.

" _Mum_!" Lei Lei cried with a voice that demanded a judicial review from her mother. It was the umpteenth time Tigress had been caught in the crossfire between the two. With her best dictatorial look, Tigress rebuked her son, "Bao... what did I tell you about saying mean things to your sister?" He rolled his eyes disrespectfully and crossed his arms.

"She was being a complete pain, that's why," he said as he glared at Lei Lei. "She dressed all my action figures in pink qipaos and ribbons, and made them do a tea party!"

Lei Lei's voice grew sharper with each word. "They are _dolls_!"

Bao mirrored her tone. "Action figures! And they are boys!!! Not sissy girls!"

"ENOUGH!" Tigress shouted. Her chest heaved from repressing the desire to exile her children to Gongmen, or return them to the Secret Panda Village.

Gradually recovering from her explosion, Tigress could only reassure herself with how peaceful the house would be after the kids left for school. Oh gosh! SCHOOL! She completely forgot about it!

"Now, we better get ready for school, you two get dressed!" Tigress commanded sternly. "...And no more bickering! We have no time for that."

Tigress rushed into their rooms and grabbed their school uniforms, only to find they were crumpled and creased underneath towering laundry piles. Seemed like she was about a decade behind in her ironing. Frantically, she scrambled to ignite a fire and heat the iron to press their clothes, only to manage to straighten the garments a little bit when she realised their breakfast was left burning in the kitchen.

Tigress berated herself. She always hoped she could be the kind but disciplined, firm but wise lady who found a perfect balance between a being domestic goddess, a loving mother, and a successful kung fu master. Pretty much like the exemplary women of the legends she heard in her cubhood. But she was not good, judicious, and patient. She was snappish, weary, and unsympathetic, like the wicked stepmother in many fairy tales. Truthfully, her kids would be lucky to have a dinner that wasn't a leftover from lunch.

She felt it took her ages to get the three of them ready and finally make it out of the door. They raced to school. It was definitely thanks to their kung fu training that they only just made it to the gate before the school gong rang.

"Bye! Love you, Mum." Both pandas kissed her cheeks, and waved their paws as they disappeared behind the gate. Suddenly, their whole morning saga was wiped from Tigress's mind. In fact, she regretted even considering sending them back to the Secret Panda Village. How her children bounced back like that every day, she had no idea. Standing among all other mothers by the gate, she waved back.

_Love you too..._

"Oh... hi, Lei Lei's Mum," one of the other mothers greeted her. She was Mei Hua's mum, her child was on the same class with Lei Lei. A phenomenon that occurred only by the school gate, which Tigress had learned ever since both of her children began attending the school, was that no one needed a name right there.

At first it sounded a bit daft. Despite her fame, accolades and unparalleled achievement as China's greatest female warrior and the wife of the Dragon Warrior, by the school gate she was known as 'Lei Lei's mum','Bao's mum' or 'the pandas' mum'. She smiled to herself when once, Shifu had to pick up the kids while she was away on a mission, and the scandalised remarks about a certain fossil with giant ears that grumpily clutched his skinny arms by the gates quickly hit the news. The mums swiftly apologised when they learned that he was actually the pandas' grandfather.

One of them even offered, "If the father suffers so much, doing all the domestic responsibility in your absence, my door is always open! You can leave your babes with me anytime!" It was heartwarming that, despite not knowing her esteemed background, most of the mothers treated her as a real friend, cordially and sincerely. They were friends without names, who understood her daily battles within the four walls of her home. Unfortunately for Tigress, she always had to reject their friendly invitations for a 'chat' over a cup of tea after the school drop-off.

After saying goodbye to the other mothers, she rushed to the dojo for training. By the time she climbed back up the Palace mountain, everyone else would've already fully warmed up, like usual. It was up to Tigress to make up for lost time.

By the measly note her husband left this morning, Tigress knew Po wouldn't be back until late tonight. He had done this often in the past year of their marriage, far more frequently than she liked, but Tigress quickly whipped those thoughts out of her mind. She realised she was getting worked up over something she had no control over. But her dissatisfaction in her marriage showed, even when she tried to hide it by wearing her usual stoic, expressionless demeanour into the training hall.

The Four were busy doing their drills when Tigress arrived. It was hardly surprising since her school run inevitably made her almost two hours behind everyone else. A buff tiger greeted her rather affectionately as she stepped in.

"Hi Tigress!" Qiang gave his best smile. His paw absently reached Tigress' shoulder. "Ready to spar?" She replied with a faint smile.

Nonetheless, the Four had grown used to this display of exaggerated friendliness since he and Tigress did spend a lot of time training and going on missions together whenever Po had other duties.

Qiang was his name. He was a Siberian tiger, a permanent transfer from Gongmen Kung Fu Academy. He previously studied under Master Thundering Rhino and Master Croc's tutelage, as a very ambitious, disciplined and untamed warrior.

All of them resumed their training, but Tigress' petulant demeanor didn't go unnoticed by Qiang. As soon as they were done for the day, he immediately addressed his concern.

"Tigress, is everything okay?" he prompted gently. Tigress looked into his fathomless golden eyes while musing over his offer. Part of her demanded someone's ears to listen to her problem, but the other part felt she was betraying her husband's trust to let someone else aware of their domestic crisis.

"You can tell me over lunch," he coaxed her further. But Tigress shook her head.

"Thanks for your offer Qiang, but I won't have time for that. I have to run a few errands before picking up the kids."

"Okay." Qiang nodded, full of understanding. "You know where I am if you need me."

After lunch, as usual, Tigress headed back to pick up the cubs from school.

By the school gate, Tigress saw the uninvited presence of the school headmaster, Mr. Chen, an authoritative-looking pig with a stare that could make kids pee themselves. Unexpectedly, he beckoned her and invited her into his office. Tigress felt her tummy churn. She mentally shrunk into a seven-year-old pupil getting punished. With a voice that boomed like a thunderclap, Mr. Chen told her something about her two children that concerned him.

"Mrs. Ping, I wanted to talk to you about your son," he said while leafing through an important-looking parchment.

"Yes?" Tigress retorted expectantly with a voice drowned in raw anticipation.

"Is Bao having any problems at home?"

His weird question sounded more like a puzzle or a trap. Apart from his usual boyish problems, she couldn't think of anything serious. Even Shifu had never complained whenever he babysat Bao, even though she heard the old master threaten to Wuxi-finger whoever broke his rules. Tigress raised her brows. "No... not that I know of."

"Do you and your husband often fight in front of the kids?"

Although Tigress knew the pig wasn't accusing her deliberately, she couldn't help but feel offended. But she was wise enough to keep her emotion behind her phlegmatic facade. "No, me and my husband hardly argue, Mr. Chen... can you tell me why this kind of matter relates to my child?"

"Well," Mr. Chen's tone turned more sympathetic, "...for the past month, Bao has been quite rebellious, not just verbally. He's been acting disrespectfully, dismissing his teacher's warnings, and today he was caught provoking and hitting his classmate."

Tigress gasped in horror. Although she acknowledged what kind of mischief Bao could inflict, she never thought he could hurt anyone. On the other hand, she didn't see why the headmaster would give her a false report. Excusing herself, Tigress left the headmaster's office to pick up Lei Lei. Her mind returned to the issue at hand, questioning the reason for Bao's misbehaviour. Was it because she yelled at him too often? Was it lack of attention? Was it his father's absence? Or... all the above? But her contemplative pursuit stalled when she heard a familiar sob.

"There, there... don't cry, Lei Lei. If they don't want to play with you, I will." Tigress saw her oldest son crouch by his crying sister, cooing words of assurance.

Tigress snapped from her daze and hastily cuddled her daughter, "What happened?"

"The girls in her class refused to play with her," Bao explained. "They said she's a freak... fat and slow." While Lei Lei being the only panda in her class made her stand out, Tigress never thought the other kids would treat her as a misfit, partly because it had never been the case with Bao.

"They've been doing this since Lei Lei started school," he said offhandedly.

Tigress was mortified. She never thought her daughter was suffering in silence for the past six months without her even knowing. She chided herself on her lack of emotional sensitivity. While Bao was loud, aggressive and outspoken, Lei Lei was shy, introvert and docile. But her mother still should've noticed...

Tigress knew sharing all of this with Po would stress him even further. With many things burdening her heart and whirling around in her head, she decided to make a detour and see her father-in-law for his wise counsel. Tugging Lei Lei and Bao's paws in each of her own, she entered Mr. Ping's establishment.

Sitting opposite each other with a mahjong board in between them, the old goose was conversing seriously with a panda that Tigress quickly identified as Li Shan. Oddly, the mahjong tiles were left completely undisturbed, sitting there as a silent witness of their deep, humourless exchange. Considering them from the restaurant entryway, Tigress could sense that they were held by a grim tension. But their anxiety dissolved abruptly as they detected her presence.

Mr. Ping waddled over and greeted her, full of glee.

"My dear, how good to see you!" A broad smile took over his beak. "...And you too, my grandcubs." He hugged them tightly.

Witnessing the morose look on their faces, Mr. Ping wielded his most potent remedy for all panda problems: food.

"Everyone want their usual?" He pulled a quill and parchment out of thin air.

"YES... YES! Yes, Gong-gong!" Both pandas squealed, while their mother just paid a tiny polite nod to the goose. Though Tigress maintained an impassive facade, after years of being one of her fathers-in-law, Mr. Ping had learned to read her. Sensing something off-kilter, the goose invited her to help him in the kitchen.

Tigress followed him inside, leaving Li Shan to entertain the cubs with some of his panda jokes. As soon as she was sure there were no eavesdroppers around, she decided it was time to share her thoughts.

"Mr. Ping, would you mind if I ask you something?" He smiled warmly. He had expected this. While moving his cleaver fluidly, Mr. Ping dipped his head to encourage her to continue.

A rare tentative tone slipped into Tigress' voice. "Do you... do you think I am a bad mother?"

The goose paused his chopping motions, and averted his eyes to the tiger before continuing on the vegetables. "Why do you ask, dear?" His voice was calm, but behind the subtlety of his reaction, Mr. Ping was taken aback. After further cajoling, he found the reason behind her question.

"I am lost. I don't know what I've done wrong, raising them." By the end of her narration, Tigress clearly sounded helpless.

"It takes two to make a baby, but it takes a village to raise a child, Tigress," Mr. Ping said. She listened to him raptly. "...And parenting is the easiest thing to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing to do!"

Mr. Ping looked over at a picture on the wall, of himself and his adoptive son. "Po wasn't actually a difficult cub... apart from his size... and his appetite!" He tittered softly as memories played in his mind. "But looking back, there are a great number of things I would do differently if I had a chance. One is trying to raise him alone with a restaurant to run at the same time."

He sighed. "Po had to fend for himself from school bullies since he was young. He also quickly got used to working to help me during peak hours and the weekend while most of his friends went out to play. I feel I may not have given Po the attention and childhood he deserved."

The goose paused to choose his words. "You have Po, and Po has you. Even when Li Shan, Shifu and I could help you, you have to at least let your husband know of your domestic challenges and the welfare of your children." Then he reached his wings to Tigress' chin. "My dear, don't let duty and other responsibilities keep you apart. You and Po are a team."

After digesting her father-in-law's words of wisdom, Tigress smiled and hummed a note of agreement.

Stealing a glance at the tiger, Mr. Ping was sure Tigress wasn't aware about Po's predicament that had come to light yesterday. His chest tightened and his eyes warmed remembering how much time Po had left before death knocking on his door. Close to death encounter wasn't a new thing for China's mighty defender. Ever since he carried the dignitary, Po had faced so many encounter that threatened his mortal existence. But Mr. Ping wondered whether this time Po's luck would finally run out.

The goose brooded over telling his daughter in law, but quickly put away his idea thinking it was better for Tigress to hear it from her husband.

"Okay, we shouldn't let the cubs get too hungry," the goose pushed a few bowls Tigress' way. She scooped them up and headed out. She saw Li tried to balance a few dumplings on his head while Bao and Lei Lei cheered him on.

Tigress was just about to greet the pandas, but inexplicably, the world around her whirled into a fathomless blur. Everything fell devoid and silent.

xxxxx

"Tigress... Tigress?!"

She opened her heavy eyelids. Her vision was filled with absurd silhouettes and a long, meaningless shadow. She blinked a few times to find the shadow was the shelf that housed Po's collection of kung fu memorabilia. The silhouette was none other than Li Shan, sitting on the edge of her bed. They were in Po's old bedroom above the restaurant.

"Thank goodness you are conscious." The old panda sighed, and a look of relief covered his withering face.

"What... what happened?" Tigress asked. Li propped a few cushions behind her so she could sit up.

"You fainted while carrying the bowls," he said. His paws absently offered her a cup of warm tea which she gladly accepted."I took you up here to examine you."

"Thank you, Mr. Li," Tigress said. "I think I overexerted myself during training today." Surprisingly, the panda erupted in jubilant laughter at her innocent logic.

"Don't you think there is another cause?" He smirked.

Tigress stared questioningly at the panda.

"Have you not missed something this month?" was the next hint he dropped. Tigress just shrugged, completely perplexed. Reading that the tiger hadn't understood his clue, Li wrapped her paw between his own.

"Tigress... you're going to have a baby. Congratulations!"


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: alcoholism mention)

_Tigress_

"That can't be right," Tigress said, much sooner than she gave thought to her words.

Li Shan chuckled softly. "I assure you, my dear, you're showing all the signs. Look, your belly is even getting a little big—I'd say you're eight weeks along already."

Tigress followed his pointing finger to her navel. She frowned to herself, it didn't look any different. Was she really using a little more of her belt every time she put it on, without noticing?

She tried to figure out if it was possible, if she and Po had been together eight weeks ago. They certainly didn't get as much alone time as they used to, and probably made love about once a week now, on average. It didn't make the time they spent together any less special. In her opinion, their honeymoon period never came to a complete end, even after years—it was honestly that they were too busy to fool around nowadays.

Surely that should've meant that she'd remember if and when they made this baby, but she honestly couldn't, and she was ashamed for it.

She shook her head briskly, to try and keep what she was feeling off her face. "It's not the right time. I can't be pregnant now, there's so much work to do."

Li Shan's smile didn't go anywhere. "There'll always be work—there'll be work a week from now, a month from now, years from now. Babies don't care. They come when they come."

Without warning, tears started prickling at the back of Tigress' eyes.

"We're not prepared."

From this point on, she wouldn't be able to train or fight anymore, it was too dangerous for the baby, so her already overworked team would have to pick up her patrols. The kung fu council would need to be informed, but they had to be careful such a message wasn't intercepted by bandits, they'd love the news that the Valley was just that little bit more vulnerable. There wasn't room at home for a nursery, so they'd need to hire a builder for an extension as soon as possible. She'd need to study up on how to care for a newborn, she and Po had no experience with them since they adopted Bao and Lei Lei when they were years older. And there were so many things to buy—blankets, toys, material for sewing up clothes, and with her numb paws she wasn't very good at sewing, she would make the baby look so foolish—

"Tigress!" Li Shan cried in alarm.

She quickly swiped at her wet cheeks—force of habit. It was once so difficult to show any weakness, even in front of people who loved her, but now she repeated herself. "We're not prepared."

He took hold of her upper arms and made her face him. "No parent is, trust me. You shoulda seen me when I heard Po was on the way!" He lowered his head and leaned in, looking up at her. "Remember what Other Dad told you. I heard when he said it takes a village. It's true. You and Po are not alone."

Tigress nodded quickly, willing herself not to start weeping in earnest. This was a ridiculous reaction. She was acting like someone had _died_.

Li Shan brushed at her damp cheeks with his thumb. "You need some time to process things. Bao and Lei Lei can stay with their grandparents for the night. You go back home, rest up, and talk to Po. Everything's going to be fine." His face hardened, in seriousness. "For both of you. Okay?"

Tigress nodded again. What would she have done without a family like this? She leaned forward and kissed her father-in-law's cheek, then got to her feet.

Aa she walked around Li Shan and out the doorway, she missed the anxiety rising up in his eyes.

xxxxx

Kids could be annoyingly observant at times. She made sure her cheeks were dry as bone when she stepped outside, but still Bao asked her what was wrong, and Lei Lei tried to follow her as she left the restaurant. She murmured some excuse about the hot sun, kissed their foreheads and made her escape.

Having the house to herself was nice at first. It gave her the space to freak out, and take her emotions out on the walls without anyone having to see. She needed to look at this practically. Li Shan was absolutely right, she had a big family, there were plenty of people around her that would help, and she knew everyone would adore the natural-born child of the Dragon Warrior and the renowned Master Tigress.

But she couldn't stop worrying. How were Bao and Lei Lei going to react? The baby would need a lot of attention for a long time, were her other kids going to be jealous? Would knowing their parents had a natural baby now make them feel like outsiders? And Tigress couldn't see when she'd have the time to deal with Bao's acting up and Lei Lei's bullies. And, heaven, she just remembered Po was to visit the capital for a political meeting in a few months, around the time she was due. She thought again, they weren't ready, the baby had come at the wrong time.

And that thought was what prompted her to fully break down. It was still light out but she retired to the bedroom, lay on Po's side of the bed, and hid her face in his pillow.

So this was the kind of mother she was, she was going to be. The kind that blamed everything on her children. This baby didn't ask to come now, if anyone was at fault, it was her and Po, they should've been more careful.

But... no, she still had the wrong attitude. There was no 'should've'. This wasn't a mistake. Yes, things were going to be challenging. But she and Po were warriors—they lived for a challenge!

She stopped crying and sat up into a more dignified position for someone of her rank, though she did pick up Po's pillow so she could hug it. The two of them were really going to have a baby.

She decided that her moment of weakness had passed. Now she looked down at herself and smiled. Her household was very black-and-white right now, with all the pandas. It was a superficial thing, of course. But it would be a novelty to have a family member with orange fur and stripes as well. To have someone in the house who actually looked like her.

She grinned at the thought. If they were lucky, the baby would inherit her resilience and good wisdom, and Po's sense of humour and zest for life. The best parts of both of them. And in a family full of people who had lost at least one of their natural parents, maybe this baby would be the turning point, the first to grow up without questioning their place in this world.

She and Po were always going to be there for this little one, she was sure of it.

There was a knock on the front door, and Tigress' mind immediately jumped to Po before realising that didn't make sense, he wouldn't knock to enter his own home. She brushed at her cheeks again and, hoping she didn't have very obviously red eyes, went to greet the visitor.

It was Qiang. Tigress fell into an easy smile.

"Evening," he said in his usual smooth drawl. He stood tall with his paws behind his back, and grinned at her.

Tigress looked to the sky. It was really evening already? She'd spent the entire afternoon crying in her room like she was a child again. She hadn't gotten anything done, now she was even further behind on chores and such. She sighed and let it go. On this day, with this news, she couldn't make herself believe that it mattered.

"Kind of you to stop by," Tigress said and pulled the door out so he could come in. He stepped around her without turning his back on her, and kept his paws up. "What do you have there?"

Qiang winked and backed up into the kitchen. He pulled the screen doors slightly so Tigress couldn't see what he was up to but they could still talk. "How are you, my lovely?"

Tigress closed the door and rolled her eyes. "I told you to stop calling me that. I'm married—not appropriate."

She heard him chuckle, and clink some china together. "You know I don't mean anything by it. And I see you skirting around the question. Something the matter?" When Tigress said nothing, he poked his head out to consider her face. "Is it Po?"

Tigress raised her brow. "What do you mean?"

Qiang shrugged. "You know... that dagger wound? Is he okay?"

"Oh..." That had completely fled Tigress' mind. She felt a touch of shame, but told herself she wasn't a bad wife for forgetting, considering how hectic the day had been. And it was only a minor injury. "I haven't seen him for a little while but he's fine, I'm sure."

Qiang nodded slowly. "And where is he now?"

Tigress went through their schedules in her head. At this time, Po would be having a meeting with the prison warden of... no, that'd be over by now, he was due back. If he wasn't here, that usually meant he'd had a particularly taxing day and was meditating at the Sacred Peach Tree. She said as much to Qiang.

"Ah... nice, and I don't hear the kids, they're clearly out. That means I have you to myself for now." He winked again and slipped back into the kitchen. Tigress gently shook her head and went to the parlour room, where she lit a few lanterns and knelt down. She wouldn't tolerate this kind of audacity from most people, but Qiang had been like this from the day they met. It was just his personality, and when he first arrived, it had been more important to work well together than to discuss personal boundaries, so this was where they were now.

And she wouldn't admit it out loud, but the attention was nice. Innocent, completely innocent, she would never look away from Po and she'd never even be tempted to. But a little fun and friendliness did her a lot of good, especially on nights like this when she would otherwise have been quite alone.

She leaned back in her seat and waited until Qiang came in with his surprise.

"Some fine rice wine! Ten-year vintage." He handed her a little cup, put the bottle down on the low table between them and knelt down with his own cup out for a toast. "To good health, and to family."

They clinked the cups together. Qiang immediately downed his and poured himself another, then held the bottle out. He frowned when he noticed Tigress hadn't touched the stuff. "What's wrong, don't like the scent?"

"No, no... it's good. Excellent quality." But in her state, alcohol was of course a no-no. "I can't have it right now, I'll save it for Po later."

Qiang pursed his lips in disappointment and took a slow sip of his next drink. "You should just tell me if you're not in the mood for a guest." He hit the bottom of the cup and set it down, then rose to his feet.

"It's not that," Tigress said quickly. "Come back down." Qiang stared at her for just long enough to make her wonder if he'd listen, then did as she said. "By 'I can't', I mean I physically shouldn't. It's unsafe."

She half-consciously stroked at her abdomen, and Qiang's eyes widened.

"You're pregnant."

Tigress froze. That was careless of her. She shouldn't have told a friend before she told all of her family. Before she told the _father_ even. But the cat was out of the cup now. "Yes, I am."

Qiang blinked a few times. "When did you find out?"

"Today. It's why the children aren't here. My fathers are giving me time to process. And talk to Po. I haven't told him yet, so for now, don't say a word."

Qiang nodded in understanding. "Wow..."

Their ears perked up as someone approached the front door and slid it open. They knew who it was when they heard the dull thud of a foot knocking into the doorway and a subsequent 'ouch!'.

"Speak of the devil," Qiang said.

Po stepped into the parlour room and flexed his sore foot a few times. He immediately smiled at Tigress, and his brow raised when he spotted Qiang.

"Ah... good evening, guys."

Tigress smiled to herself. Only Po could refer to his actual wife as a 'guy'. Her smile faded as she took in his appearance.

He didn't look good. He was pale, and with her good eyesight, she could just see purple rings had formed behind the dark fur under his eyes. Clearly she wasn't the only one fighting exhaustion today.

Qiang got to his feet again and approached the panda. He gave Po a few solid pats to his shoulder, grinned, and said, "Congratulations to the happy couple!" He briefly glanced back at Tigress, who glared at him and his big mouth. He told Po, "I'll head out now. Please enjoy my rice wine—someone has to."

He slipped out of the parlour room and the house. After listening to him go, Po turned to Tigress and asked, "He just congratulated us, right?"

Tigress took in a deep breath, nodded, and shifted over so Po could come kneel beside her. When he did, she angled herself to face him better.

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Then without warning, Po threw his arms up and caught her in a crushing hug. Tigress instinctively brought her own arms across her stomach, making the hug a little awkward but protecting what was inside of her. Po didn't seem to notice what she was doing.

It wasn't weird of him to show her affection, not at all. But it was weird that he held her so urgently, like this wasn't just another greeting between husband and wife.

The hug carried on for a while, and she ignored the impulse to wriggle away. He wouldn't test her personal space like this unless he really needed to.

After he did eventually let her go, she said, "There's something I need to tell you..."

She paused. Her husband looked worse up close, it looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. How would he react to the news? She had been worrying all day, if she told him now would she make him worry all night, and rob him of even more sleep?

She looked him up and down, and stopped when she noticed the bandage on his arm, recognising it as her old bindings even when it looked absolutely filthy. She glared at him. "You haven't changed your dressing? You know better than that, the wound will get infected!" She reached out to pluck at the horrid thing, but Po leaned away from her paws.

"Eh... it's a little late for that." He chuckled.

Tigress' glare only hardened. "It's not funny. Let me clean and redress it." She tried reaching for it again but Po grabbed both of her wrists.

"No, it's really gross. You don't wanna hafta look at it."

Tigress tried tugging her arms back, but Po held fast. "I'm a warrior and a mother—if I was once even a little squeamish, that time is long past. Let me—"

_"No,"_ Po said, in the head-of-the-household voice that he very rarely used. His tone softened as he continued. "I'll do it myself later, I promise. Now what is it you gotta tell me?"

Tigress sighed and relaxed her arms. Po let them slide through his grip until their paws were together, and then he held tight again.

She thought for a few seconds on the best way to put this. Was there a best way? Maybe she should just say it.

"Po... I'm pregnant."

He didn't immediately say anything, and Tigress watched as his face switched between almost every extreme of emotion. First his mouth fell open in shock, something Tigress completely understood.

Then very quickly, a hundred times more quickly than her, a beaming smile covered his face, and wonder filled his eyes.

"You... you're..." he said, but before he could finish his thoughts, his face was taken over by pure terror. He looked away, to express the one feeling that Tigress didn't understand. He scrunched his face up to fight tears, and they didn't look like her own from earlier. He wasn't close to crying from worry, it was more like... heartache.

"Po?" Tigress said softly, and squeezed his paws.

He looked back at her, blinking until he could see her clearly. "You're having a baby... with me?"

Tigress might've laughed, if Po didn't look so distraught. "Of course, who else?"

For a reason completely beyond Tigress, Po looked over his shoulder, following where Qiang had gone.

"What...?" Tigress muttered. "Are you serious? You think Qiang could be the father?"

Po looked down at the floor, as if there was some puzzle there that he could work out if he concentrated hard enough. He still looked in pain. "You two are pretty close. And I think he'd make a good dad."

Tigress ripped her paws out of his. This was not what she expected, or needed, to hear. "Are you _listening to yourself?_ Do you really think I could do that to you, do you really think so little of me?!"

Po blinked and responded much too slowly for Tigress' liking. "I... I'm not trying to say you cheated on me, I—"

"I think you are," Tigress growled. "How could the thought even cross your mind?" She stood up.

Po sighed. "Honey, wait. This is a misunderstanding."

"You're right," Tigress snapped. "Treat your damn wound before you catch something, and talk to me again when you've matured."

She left for the bedroom, and if she could slam its sliding doors, she would have.

xxxxx

_Po_

He knew better than to rile Tigress up even more by following her, so Po stayed and barely-slept in the parlour—after he put the wine in the pantry. He didn't have any of it, wine was for happy occasions, and he'd heard horror tales of old guys having a drink when they were upset and then it becoming a strangling habit.

Even if he didn't have that much time left, he didn't want to kick the bucket with that demon hanging over him.

The morning light was relief. Po left Tigress a note that said _I'm sorry, love you_ and left to see his parents.

His movements were starting to get sluggish—he couldn't run nearly as fast as two days ago. By the time he made it to the restaurant, there was no sign of the kids. They had to be at school already.

Po couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not. They weren't around to see how bad he looked, but when was the last time he'd spent time with them? Or just held them?

His heart felt a hundred times heavier.

"Son!" Mr. Ping cried when he saw the panda. His voice was a little shrill today.

Po leaned down to hug him. "Good morning," he said, out of habit. The morning could be a lot better.

"Dad's upstairs, if you want to check his progress with... you know." Mr. Ping grabbed a couple of bowls and handed them to Po. "Leek soup for breakfast today... make sure Dad eats, he didn't have anything all day yesterday."

Po frowned. For a panda, a day of missed food felt like a week. He padded upstairs, and was very irritated to find that even the single flight of steps to the second floor made him feel winded.

Smoke and strange smells seeped out of the doorframe to his closed bedroom. He put his bowls on one arm—where they wobbled slightly—and knocked on his own door.

"Dad," Li Shan said irritably, "I already told you, I can't afford to get distracted right now."

"It's me," Po called out.

There was a pause, then he heard his dad hoist himself up and come to the door.

When he opened it, a plume of smoke escaped. Once they could see past it, Li Shan gave Po the biggest smile. It didn't ring true with the giant bags under his eyes.

Po handed a bowl over. "When was the last time you slept?"

Li Shan shook his head. "I... am not making fast enough progress. I can't sleep yet when you..." He trailed off.

Po went in, stepping carefully around the cauldron and all the herbs and scrolls Li Shan had strewn across the floor. He found an empty spot to sit and wait for his panda dad to join him. "Dad, you know you're not gonna be able to concentrate on inventing an antidote without sleep, right?"

Li Shan scowled at his bowl of soup. "I can't. Not until you're safe."

Po let the two of them eat their breakfast before he started arguing again.

"Please take a nap at least. They're good for you, they boost your brain power!"

Li Shan smiled at him again. "I know you're right, Son. I will, I promise. First, tell me how you're doing."

"Ah..." Po played with the spoon in his empty bowl. "Well... Tigress gave me some crazy news last night."

The closest thing to an actually peaceful smile came over Li Shan's face. "Oh yes... she's expecting."

Po looked up in surprise. "She already told you?"

"Other way around. I was the one who inspected her. Congratulations, Son."

Po tried to smile. He didn't know why he should keep getting congratulations if he might not even be here for the baby.

Would it really grow up without a father? He so hoped not. Even if it wasn't him... he hoped Tigress would see the wisdom behind finding someone else to help care for the children. And to care for her too.

He knew it would take a very long time for her to even think about the idea—he hoped she wouldn't be stubborn enough to stay a widow the rest of her life. Her loyalty was one of the most beautiful things about her, but she definitely proved that it was possible to be loyal to a fault. The amount of times she'd thrown herself in front of him to protect him in battle...

Po gasped softly to himself. He was suddenly filled to his ears with gratitude that she hadn't done that this last time. He wouldn't be able to stand it if she was the one fighting the poison.

And even if they found an antidote, who knows if the baby could've pulled through.

Po's breath went short. He took a few gulps of air, and found the steam from the cauldron was hindering him quite a lot.

"That's not helping?" Li Shan muttered to himself about ingredients for a few seconds, and dropped a lid on the pot. When he turned his attention back to his son, Po already knew what he was going to ask.

"Have you told Tigress?"

His silence was enough of an answer.

"Son, you really need to—"

"I _know!"_ Po snapped. "I know! I really do! But I... really don't know how."

They fell into silence. This wasn't like Tigress' news. No matter how she could've worded it, learning that they were expecting a baby was one of the happiest moments of his life—at least until he remembered he was dying.

He was dying. He couldn't just say that, he couldn't be so cold.

He was supposed to know how to talk to his wife about anything. That was the promise he made to her. They were one mind, one heart, one life.

Thank heaven that last part wasn't literal.

He put his face in his palms, and dug his claws into his cheeks. Maybe this one time, he could be forgiven for being a coward. Maybe he could ask someone else to give the news.

He would need to choose this someone carefully. Who could he trust to share the news gently enough, to handle Tigress' likely explosive reaction, and to comfort her even if it was only in some small way?

He couldn't burden his parents with this, they were already stretched too far in looking for an antidote. He couldn't tell the Five either, they'd need time to deal with the news themselves. That left Shifu... but Po already owed the old teacher so much... and Qiang.

The tiger might be the best possible choice. He clearly cared for Tigress, and he and Po weren't that close, so he wouldn't get emotional.

Po trusted him. And so did Tigress.

xxxxx

_"Hahaha! That's what I call a close shave!"_

_Qiang was annoyingly literal. He, Po and Tigress only just escaped that cave-in without injury. It had been close enough that some stones had scraped over their bodies and cut through their fur. Tigress had a strip of bare skin running down her left leg, Po's belly was looking a little naked, and Qiang's entire right hand side would need a week or two to get back to normal._

_Tigress shook her head in exasperation. "If you hadn't roared and dislodged that support beam in the first place..." There was no real bite to her words, and Po knew why._

_She had been furthest away from the cave exit when the place began to fall apart. She'd immediately cried at Po to run, and for a moment, he stopped thinking like a husband, and thought like just another teammate again. It made sense, Tigress was slimmer, so if she was buried it would be much easier for him to dig her out of the rocks than the other way around._

_So he did as he was told, and he really didn't understand where such cowardice had come from. He should've done what Qiang did—when Tigress' ankle was caught in a sinkhole, the tiger fell back to pull her free. Maybe if Po went back, he would've been buried. But she was his_ wife _. She was worth it._

_As they walked together, Tigress nudged Qiang's shoulder with her own, which was as much thanks as he was going to get. It still made Po feel ashamed._

_He hung back a few paces, trying to get a hold of himself. He should just be grateful that Tigress was okay, instead of feeling bad that someone else had been her hero._

_He looked down at the ground until he saw Tigress' feet. He raised his eyes to see she had come to his side and was staring at him in concern._

_"You're okay? You didn't get injured after all, did you?"_

_Po shook his head quickly. "No, no... I'm just sorry."_

_Tigress shook her head back at him. "You have nothing to apologise for. Haven't you learned by now, listening to me is always the right move."_

_Po gave her a weak chuckle._

_He didn't know if it was because he and Tigress had been close for years by now, or if marriage suddenly made a wife capable of mind reading, but Tigress seemed to know exactly was bothering him. She snaked her paw into his and squeezed. "I know you have my back, and I hope you know I have yours. We're a team, and a family. We can face anything together."_

_It would've made life quite inconvenient, but Po still wanted to tie their paws together so he never had to let her go._

xxxxx

Despite himself, Po smiled at the memory. Li Shan shifted beside him, and when Po looked up, his dad was eying him carefully.

"You okay, Son?"

Po nodded. "I got it, Dad. I know how to tell her now. Good luck with all this stuff." He gestured to the messy room, gave his dad a hug, and went to the door.

"Po..."

He turned back to Li Shan. "Uh huh?"

Li Shan's stare was maybe the most intense he'd even given Po. "We _will_ find an antidote. Your baby won't grow up fatherless, I promise."

Po smiled. So did he.


	4. Day 4

_Po_

After spending the night in his old bedroom above the restaurant, Po returned home. He was glad to find the house deserted. Tigress was probably somewhere running her errands or training in the Jade Palace, and the kids had to be in school. Po took a long, drawn-out breath. When lots of things were ramming his mind like they were today, he needed to confide his thoughts alone without anyone asking him 'what's wrong' every five minutes. He knew his family only meant well.

He threw himself on the parlour room mat, sure he could smell the rice wine that was here the day before. His fight with his wife flashed through his head. It was bad handling on his part over such happy news. He should've shown Tigress how happy he was rather than immediately thought about who best to replace him when he was gone. Po would never question her loyalty, Tigress would never cheat on him. But of course, he couldn't just feed her defiant mind with the idea of her hooking up with someone else for the sake of the children, especially when she didn't even know that he was dying. Like yesterday, his suggestion was obviously misunderstood as a mocking insult to her.

Shaking his negative thoughts out of his head, Po tried to concentrate on what needed doing today. He surveyed the room.

In the corner stood his working bureau, which didn't resemble a piece of furniture anymore. It was jam-packed with stashes of paper scattered into a messy pile, ink splatter ran along its side, and on top sat some dirty bowls from days ago with green stuff growing in them. _Eugh_.

Next to his desk was a pyramid of scrolls, perfectly aligned and sequentially numbered. Tigress' handiwork. She was the one who had the patience and persistency to painstakingly organise things like that. But even then, the scrolls had risen to much taller than the bureau.

The disparity between the desk and scrolls prompted Po to at least try to shape his chaos into something more eye-friendly. He picked up a stack of parchment—at least now he could see a bit of the desk's wooden surface. Unwittingly, his paw unearthed a small wooden frame.

It held his wedding picture.

His mind flew to that most beautiful day of his life. It was five years ago, but he remembered it like yesterday.

It took all of Po's kung fu self-discipline to suppress his reaction to seeing Tigress as she emerged from her bridal sedan. Even so, his mouth still dropped open in awe as she walked to him, until Mantis kindly pushed it back up. Po recalled the moment he lifted her crimson veil. His paw shook so violently that Shifu had to yell his signature 'Panda! Focus!' line. And there she was, her face wearing just a touch of makeup and a freshly bloomed blossom tucked behind one ear, completing the entire prize-worthy masterpiece.

Tigress was wearing a plain red kua that hung to the ground. It hugged her figure, accentuated her curves in a way that made a knot form in Po's throat and rendered him breathless. He could feel the blood rising to his face as her captivating sunset eyes met his gaze.

He was unresponsive until Tigress murmured, 'Po, I can't wait until your next birthday for you to kiss me.' Only then did he muster up the courage to meet her lips. That was the extraordinary moment when confetti burst in his head. All the wedding guests gave them a blustering cheer when their lips met in public for the first time, marking the beginning of the new journey that was their life together. It felt like a dream, so vague and surreal. Po couldn't even believe he actually survived their wedding night without falling into a coma.

He traced the picture with his finger as his heart drowned in melancholy. How could he forget this girl that he had vowed to love, to cherish and to hold until death do them part. And he realised how much he had wasted his precious time, now that death had come knocking on his door.

Po let his eyes relish Tigress' beauty once more, focusing on the majestic display of toned muscle beneath the taut fabric. Those were the muscles she earned running through the drills together, sparring with him, choreographing their dance of destruction and eventually fighting alongside each other. Tigress was never a traditional definition of beauty and refinement. She was stocky where other girls offered daintiness. There was defiance and strength in her gaze while other girls were coquettish. Men normally desire women who were elegant, restrained and submissive, but Tigress was loyal, unfettered and brave. It's what made Po fall for her. She was indeed unique.

Thinking of everything he loved about her suddenly reminded him of where he kept all his old pictures.

From underneath their bed, Po pulled out a tattered-looking box, covered in a layer of dust. He sneezed loudly as moving the box made dust bunnies dance in his face.

There were many pictures of his cub self, smiling pathetically and wearing threadbare pants. Posing next to him was his goose dad, with an unrecognisable braid on his head, grinning proudly for no particular reason. Po noticed in the earliest pictures, he was only as tall as his dad's neck, but a year later he had overtaken the goose even when he was slouching.

Underneath his pile, he excavated a few canisters. This time it was Tigress' childhood pictures. They were very few. Well, Shifu wasn't the most sentimental creature, unlike Po's dad, who hired a painter to immortalise their moments together whenever he had some extra cash.

Po looked at the small versions of him and Tigress. One grinned expressively like a mindless idiot, the other one struck a stern kung fu stance. They were very different, but equally cute.

Lost on memory lane, Po imagined what their cub was going to be like. Perhaps he would be endowed with his dad's robustness and curiosity, compiled with Tigress' hardiness and intellect.

He smiled at the idea of the irrepressible cub exploring the world around him like an adventurer.

Or... perhaps their cub would be bumbling and silly like him, but with their mother's strike of stubbornness and persistence. Po's imagination vividly showed him the cub frolicking in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, chewing shurikens, grappling the Sword of Heroes precariously and tearing the place down. Oh he could just picture, Shifu's expression would be... priceless! Ha! Bet his ears would twitch too. He laughed at his own thought.

But, whatever the combination was, their child was going to be special and... loved, as much as the other two that Po already had.

Adopting Bao and Lei Lei wasn't a decision Po and Tigress made overnight. Both of them had long ruminated and discussed the subject, considering they were two very busy individuals. They thought methodically about all the hurdles that might deprive two young pandas of the love and care they deserved. The couple considered who was going to take care of them when they were away on missions, making sure that they got the best education balanced with best chance to pursue things they liked, and making sure they received enough attention. Despite their hectic schedule, the two warriors had maintained a good balance, and gave their children the slices of affection they needed.

However, as the days turned to weeks, weeks to month and months to years, those sacred promises seemed to be eroded by waves of overwhelming duty and responsibility. Having children had become a chore and not a joy, the family had become Po's burden and not his dedication, and Tigress had evolved from being his wife to almost a stranger that he shared his bed with. A pang of guilt stung his soul as he remembered how much Tigress must have suffered in silence. And not only that, Po had embroiled himself so much in his work that he neglected his weekly dinner with his goose dad, and kept on calling off his quarterly visit to see his panda dad. Undoubtedly, a few dinner dates, little gestures of affection, and simple 'I love you's would have made things better if he did them more faithfully.

His paws reached the bottom of the box. It held the artist's copy of their dinner during the Winter Festival at his dad's restaurant. Everyone was smiling resplendently, even Tigress and Shifu's faces radiating with unusual displays of positivity.

Po sighed dejectedly while his mind went over his whole life in an instant. He had overlooked almost everything other than his warrior duties.

Then Po remembered how a turns of events brought the tension between him and his father-in-law Shifu to the boiling point. At first, the sage master only hinted at his disapproval of how Po remained too focused on his work.

_"Po, I understand you don't want to disappoint anyone. But you can't keep accepting all these invitations and requests for help."_

_"But master, they need me!"_

_"Your family needs you too, panda! You just returned from three months duty and you are about to commit yourself to yet another one. Let others take your place."_

_"They specifically asked for me, it'll be—"_

_"No, Dragon Warrior. I appreciate your sense of responsibility. But those people will be fine, I will write to them to explain."_

_"But I can ask Tigress to re-arrange my schedule—"_

_"Po, enough! Can't you see that my daughter is suffering from trying to support your every whims! She is capable, that I know, but even the strongest steel will bend under intense fire."_

_"Wha-what? Are you... accusing me of—"_

_"Po, I know you are a dependable warrior, and you've matured into your role. But, your children are only small once, and if you don't pay attention, everything in your life will pass you by. Don't make the same mistake I did when Tigress was their age."_

Po heart sank as the last words from his father-in-law echoed in his head. For these past few years, his relationship with Shifu ranged from tense to unhealthy. They plowed through so many rifts, some even escalated to altercations. Back then, Po felt Shifu's accusations were unnecessary. He was upset Shifu didn't share his enthusiasm, zeal and passion to help others, to bloom into his role as Oogway's Successor. But now, after reviewing all those fights again, a revelation of the full meaning of Shifu's wisdom came to light. He merely chastised Po for losing sight of the things that really matter. After all, he only has one life!

Po sighed as regret and shame assailed him. Now, it was too late. He only had a few days to make things right.

Wait. A few days. He still had them. He just needed to make good use of them. Every second matters. Even if he ended up dying, he wasn't willing to die as a loser who never admitted to his mistakes, who didn't turn away from them when he still had time. That wasn't how he wanted Tigress, the Five or the rest of his family to remember him.

'Yes, I'll make things right!' he promised with finality.

With new courage inside him, Po was resolute that he would impart something useful for his children.

He contemplated the things he wanted to do before he died. Although as a warrior Po had thought a lot about dying, he never thought it would come this soon. He had never written any bucket list, prepared a will, or even thought about how he wanted to be buried and remembered. But even more importantly, he wished his children could have a complete set of parents. Unfortunately, it seemed like the universe had decided otherwise. But begging Tigress to remarry was a surely a slim prospect. The creative panda soon came up with a plan however, but he needed a little help.

Watching the time tick by, he remembered he had another meeting at the Musician's Village in an hour's time, but he really couldn't cope with it. With haste, he climbed the length of the Thousand Stairs to find Zheng. Po asked his assistant to inform everyone of his schedule change for the next three days. At first, the goose threw a quizzical look, as if Po had grown one more head—it had been a long time since the Dragon Warrior had turned down a meeting or refused an assignment. Nonetheless, the goose complied.

After that, employing his stealth mode, he peeked through the slightly ajar door to the Training Hall. Thankfully, Tigress wasn't there... and neither was Qiang. Po frowned, the two felines were obviously on some assignment together... _again_. But his jealousy subsided when he realised Viper wasn't there too, only the boys.

"Po?" Crane was the first to notice him. Clearly, Po's stealth mode wasn't as good as he thought it was. The Furious boys halted their drills.

"I thought you had a meeting somewhere today?" The bird approached him.

"Ugh, I cancelled it... there are... erm, other important matters to... to sort at home," Po struggled with a mediocre excuse.

Mantis laughed. "Must be a serious domestic problem, because I can't imagine you bailing out for that meeting in Musician Village—they always serve you food at the end."

"Aw dude," Monkey added playfully, "what did you do to upset Tigress this time?"

Po replied with an atypically grim smile, which was immediately detected by his three confidants.

"Po? Is there anything wrong?" Mantis' smile left his face, while the rest gathered around closer.

Po pulled a sharp breath. "Yes, something's very wrong. But before I tell you, could you all promise not to let a word out to Tigress?" The three of them looked perplexed and concerned, but crossed their hearts as a sign of allegiance.

They all followed him into the kitchen and sat around the table, raptly listening to Po's narration. He began his story from the moment he was assaulted by the elusive felon that left his life hanging on a thread. The boys were obviously devastated to hear Po's revelation about his imminent demise, but soon realising that listening ears and moral support were all they could offer.

"So," Crane's voice broke the silence, "what do you want to do now?"

"I want to be here for my children, even after I die." Po stated.

Mantis cocked his head, "You want us to make a life-size statue of you?"

Po laughed, it was a good thing even in this dire situation that his friends still found something to joke about.

"No, I mean like a message... life instructions if you like," he answered.

"Ah, got you." The insect gestured with his pincers.

"That's actually a good idea, you could probably make them a scroll each that Tigress could read out on their birthdays." Crane nodded in approval. "I'll get you some of the supplies I have left in my bedroom."

"Sound like a plan!" Po rubbed his palms expectantly, he found his enthusiasm had returned, thanks to his friends.

Crane fetched his pot of ink and quill while Mantis and Monkey pulled out some empty parchment. Then the four of them began bouncing ideas back and forth before Po jotted them down.

The messages started off plain and simple. Well, Po had to imagine himself writing for a six-year-old Lei Lei, he obviously couldn't leave her complicated instructions nor deep nuggets of wisdom. But it was when he wrote a letter for her sixteenth birthday that the brainstorming among the males began heating up.

"I say you should write, 'beware of handsome men that talk smoothly, they're only interested in taking you to bed!'" Crane suggested.

"You always have something against attractive males aren't you?" Mantis clicked his tongue and smirked smugly at the bird. It was true that Crane often had self-confidence issues since he was lanky, skinny and almost way too fragile-looking to be a kung fu master. Even though his self-esteem had improved a lot since becoming a part of Furious Five, perhaps sometimes his subconscious often reminded him of deprecating remarks others had given him in the past.

Crane scoffed. "It's true! A lot of debonair, winsome men are in fact total ass—"

"—Ses! Total asses!" Po finished for him.

"And the clever ones are usually cunning enough to cheat behind your back," the avian added.

"Are you saying Lei Lei should pick some idiot for a husband?" Monkey sneered. Unwittingly his sight fell on Po, who realised the implied meaning of his gaze. _"Hey!"_

Crane adjusted his straw hat smoothly. "Well, it's better than marrying a handsome, cunning jerk any day!"

The boys continued to bicker, but mostly with harmless jokes, which Po was grateful for. He took his time writing the messages one-by-one. Thankfully, with the help of all the guys, he got it done in a single day. He sank in his seat as he rolled up the last piece of parchment into its canister. His eyes wandered to the window, to see that the sun was already down.

_Oh boy! Where all the time flies!_

"Right guys, I better make a move," Po announced.

Mantis groaned, "Aw man... not staying with us for dinner?"

Po shook his head, he really had no time to waste. "Sorry buddy, I have a lot of things to settle."

Placing his hands on Po's meaty shoulder, Monkey looked at him sympathetically, "We understand. If there's anything else we can do, we're here."

Po's lips curled into a sincere smile. "Thanks, guys."

With his next mission in mind, Po left the kitchen in a hurry. After combing the entire palace's ground, he found his grandmaster meditating in the garden by Oogway's statute. Po approached him quietly, he didn't want to disturb the master's meditation.

"Shifu..." He kept his voice as soft as possible. "Is this... a good time? Bad time?"

"Time... is an illusion," he answered, his eyes still firmly closed. "There is only the now."

The cogs and wheels inside Po's panda brain worked to decode his master's message.

Too bad he found no answer. "So, now's.... a good time?" Po squeaked with hesitancy.

Exhaling loudly, Shifu turned around. "What do you want, Dragon Warrior?" He didn't sound too annoyed, but by the twitching of his eyes and ears, Po knew Shifu would rather not see him right now.

"Sorry, Master. Can... can we talk about something—" Po trailed off under the glare of his former teacher. But ever since rifts started forming between them, Po didn't blame Shifu for being wary of their discussions, as if he already knew this would end in a bitter fight.

"This better be important, Po."

"Yeah, yeah... it is," Po replied lowly. "I think so anyway."

"Okay, I am listening," Shifu said, his expression smoothing out on seeing how serious the panda was.

The pair decided to stroll around the garden together while Shifu listened to the Dragon Warrior's recount of the last mission he was on.

"So yeah, that's the end of the story. I've probably got, like, a few more days to live?" Po closed his narration with a tone of finality. Flicking his gaze over his shoulder to check whether his master was still walking with him, Po just realised Shifu was few pace behind, his jaw down the furthest possible distance, in fact not that far from the ground. Well, Shifu wasn't that tall after all.

"Geez, that doesn't help at all," Po commented at his gawking teacher.

"Wai... wait... you are saying you only have three days left?" Shifu asked, half-shouting in disbelief.

"Pretty much!" Po said, his own voice dampened.

"Then what are you doing here!" Shifu yelled, "You don't even need to wait for me to give you permission for an off day! You just... _oh, panda_..." Shifu pinched the bridge of his nose. Po could be very creative yet very shortsighted at the same time. "Just—just go! Do whatever you need, whatever you want to do..." Suddenly, a tremor sounded from Po's round belly, interrupting him.

The panda smiled sheepishly. "Ugh, sorry. I've skipped... er... dinner."

"Ah yes... if you are hungry, you can order absolutely anything, I will make sure Zheng fetches it for you."

 _"Really?!"_ Honestly, at first Shifu looked grim over his son-in-law's predicament, but the panda's reaction forced a smile out of him.

Shifu huffed. "Po... people don't normally focus on eating when they have three days left. I hope you aware of that."

"Right." Po rubbed the back of his head before going into his other news. "And I've got something else to tell you, Shifu. This thing's way better than what I told you before. Tigress is having a baby!"

Shifu's eyes widened. The announcement kindled a strange warmth in his face. Although Po knew he loved Bao and Lei Lei deeply, the nostalgic side of him was keen to experience seeing a stripy creature running around the palace, like decades ago. But Po saw as the thing that had been haunting him rose up in Shifu's mind too—this child would be fatherless from the beginning of its life. It had to upset the old master, to know that history might repeat itself again—having to see his own grandchild grow up without his daddy. Po could read the torment on Shifu's face.

"Master, don't worry," he reassured with a voice as calm as a summer sea.

His paws ran over the stack of endlessly valuable messages on his back. "I have everything taken care of."


	5. Day 5, Part 1

_Tigress_

She woke up suddenly. Something wasn't normal.

Actually a couple of somethings—the first being that the sun was streaming through the open window. She never slept in so late, it was practically impossible for her after decades of early training and chores.

Another thing, she was alone. Po didn't stay away for this long, even on the rare instances that they fought. She checked the other side of the bed and it wasn't rumpled up. If he'd slept at all, it wasn't with her.

She took a deep breath and scratched at her arm. She must've been overly harsh this time. Sometimes, with how cheerful and strong her husband was, she forgot he had a soft heart and always would.

She decided. Once the kids were fed and taken to school, she'd hunt Po down and have a real talk with him—one where she wouldn't jump the bow-and-arrow, and where she would actually apologise. She didn't do it often, because she didn't screw up a lot—at least that's what she liked to think. But if a warrior never swallowed their pride, they'd choke on it.

She leapt out of bed, without her typical finesse. Why did sleeping in longer make you feel more tired? Backwards logic. But today she had to be at the top of her game if she was already late for everything.

She strode out of the doorway and froze as she noticed another something that was weird. Turning back to look into the bedroom, she saw a rarely-used incense pot burning on the corner table. She didn't light it so it had to be Po. He did come home last night, but only for that? Didn't make much sense.

Approaching the pot, it took a few seconds to recognise the scent. It had been a long time, but she was pretty sure this was... catnip?

That explained why she felt so drowsy. Her teammates once pranked her with this stuff—she'd felt so relaxed, she completely missed an important meeting with a visiting general. Payback was the sweetest that day.

But Po probably wasn't trying to prank her now. Tigress reached out and smothered the burning rods with her fingertips.

"Bao! Lei Lei!" she yelled into the house. "Aren't you hungry?" Their cries for breakfast usually served as the alarm she rarely needed.

There was no reply this morning. Tigress was now fully alert.

"Kids...?"

She darted into their rooms, checking under the beds and behind the furniture, but there was no sign of them.

At the sight of the kitchen, she sighed in relief. Her family wasn't there but they clearly had been—a stash of clean dishes were drying out by the door, some coals were dying under the stove, and a party of ingredients and spices sat on the counter. Po clearly stretched his cooking skills to the max.

Tigress smiled but scratched her arm again. To her it was obvious that Po was making some peace offerings, handling the kids' breakfasts and taking them to school. It wasn't needed, Tigress had already put their fight behind her.

She was about to leave when she spotted the note he'd left her. She quickly swept it up.

_Hi Ti (sorry, couldn't resist),_

_It's officially Give Your Pregnant Cat Wife a Break Day, sountil sunup tomorrow, you can't do any chores or training or work of any kind, that's the rules. I already told everyone to stay off your back, so you don't even have to do that! I freakin' nailed the planning for today._

_You won't wanna do this, but I think you should go relax by the springs and take some perfumes to pamper yourself. And I'm being serious, if you try to go down to the village and run errands or pick up supplies or anything, our besties agreed to swoop in and kick your butt (or, y'know, try to)._

_This is your time. Don't think about me or the kids or the baby or anyone except yourself. I've got us all covered._

_I know it's kinda hard to believe. I haven't been the awesomest husband when it came to all this stuff. We can talk about it later. Meet me under the peach tree just before sunset, and come in your fave outfit._

_And trust me. I love you more than I love kung fu, food and fist bumps combined._

_Po_

_P.S: I totally outdid myself with your breakfast this time!!!_

This shouldn't have been enough to make her eyes water. Tigress rolled up the note carefully and took it with her as she went to track down what was no doubt a fantastic breakfast.

xxxxx

_Po_

He never stopped appreciating all the things his wife did for this family, but a direct reminder still helped to keep his head on straight. The to-do list of errands that Tigress would normally have right now... it was a mile long. After the kids were safely in school, he went nuts.

The scrolls of wisdom were finished and stored carefully in a chest under his and Tigress' bed. He made an order for a builder to come and make their house a nursery. Speaking of nurseries, he picked up as many toys and materials as he thought Tigress might need for the baby (so, a cartload of toys and a couple sheets of fabric). He also stockpiled on food, since after he was gone, the last thing on Tigress' mind would be grocery shopping, and if he knew her, he knew there was a good chance she'd refuse anything Goose Dad prepared for her.

Everything took twice as long to do as it should have. Po blamed his sickness for that. He avoided his dads completely—if they saw him running around doing things instead of resting, they'd try to knock him out and strap him to his bed. But there was way too much to get done for that.

Miracles abound, he was pretty much finished by the time Bao and Lei Lei were due to leave school. All the major things were taken care of, and his friends could handle the rest.

Po waited outside the schoolhouse with the mothers. He earned himself a few curious looks, and eventually one of them, a rabbit, piped up.

"Dragon Warrior, why are you here? Is something going on?" she took a step back so she and Po could see each other more clearly over his belly. He saw alarm come up on her face. "You're not expecting an attack around the school or anything, are you?"

Po answered as quickly as he could, though his words were a little short. It was even harder to breathe today. "Oh, nah, nothing like that, ladies, don't worry!" He chuckled, and the sound barely came out. "I'm just... y'know... picking the kids up from school. Giving Master Tigress a break. She's pregnant, y'see."

"Oh, right, yes!" another mum said. "Well, congratulations, you must be so excited."

Po smiled. He guessed he was, though he couldn't be too thrilled that he was going to miss his new baby's life entirely. Not that he could say that aloud, so he said, "Yeah..." and turned to watch the school doors again.

When they opened, Bao was the first to burst out. He was laughing, swinging his schoolbag around as he was chased by a bunch of rowdy-looking boys. Po assumed they were his friends. He winced at himself. As a parent, wasn't he supposed to know who his kid's buddies were?

He straightened himself out. There was still time to try and make up for these things.

He watched Bao scan the crowd for his mother, and land on Po with surprise. He stopped running and let his friends pounce on him—they couldn't do much to hurt him as they were all tiny geese and rabbits. The kids soon let him go and rushed off while Bao came to Po's side.

"Hi, dad!" he chirped. "Where's mum?"

"She's busy with something right now, you'll see her tomorrow. Where's your sis?"

Bao became a lot more composed. "I think she stayed behind with the teacher."

"Huh? She's in trouble?"

"Nah..." Bao looked over at the river of students leaving the doors. "Not this time."

Po followed his eyes to a little group of girls, walking tightly together, giggling and touching each others' fur and feathers. They looked around the same age as Lei Lei, they had to be from her class. One of them noticed Bao, who stuck his tongue out at her. He got a dirty look in reply, which fell away when the girl noticed Po. After she whispered something to her friends, the whole group picked up the pace and practically sprinted down the street and out of sight.

Po looked down at his son intently. "Something going on, sport?"

Bao shrugged. "They're a bunch of jerks."

He didn't offer anything else. Po frowned after the girls.

Bao was very patient as they waited for Lei Lei to appear, which was impressive considering she was the last student to leave. She came through the doors holding the hem of her teacher's robe with one paw while cradling her Tigress doll/action figure with the other. She look around carefully. When she saw her dad, her face relaxed and she ripped her paw from her teacher to sprint to Po.

"Hey there, my lovely—oof!" Lei Lei jumped right at him and he had to scramble to catch her in time. He ignored the Tigress digging into his shoulder, because Lei Lei hugged him like he was about to run a course in the dojo and she had to hold on for dear life.

"Hey, hey, what's up?" Po said softly. Lei Lei was kind of an unusual kid—she was in a phase where she didn't like hugs too often, and she really didn't like long hugs. Tigress was the only exception—for anyone else, even Po, it wasn't guaranteed that she'd tolerate PDA every day. He didn't mind, that's just what she was like, But clearly something was wrong now.

She didn't know about him... did she? No, that was impossible, the only ones who knew would never tell her, they'd never want to hurt her like that.

Lei Lei didn't say anything. Looking down at Bao didn't give Po any insight, the little boy just shrugged at him again.

"Okay, it's okay. A tiring day at school, yeah? No problemo, there's a whole pot of pudding waiting for you at your gramp's."

Cookies always made everything better. Lei Lei mumbled something into Po's shoulder that he had no chance of understanding through his fur.

"Huh?" he said. "What was that, kiddo?"

She raised her head. "Don't wanna go to gramp's. Want mama."

"Oh..." Po racked his brain for a way to say Tigress couldn't see her right now without making Lei Lei feel worse than she clearly already did. "Mama's got some stuff she has to do today." Or not do. "What's the matter, kiddo? Your pops can take care of it."

Lei Lei shook her head vigorously. Bao stepped behind Po so Lei Lei would see his face.

"Just tell him," the little panda said. "Dad's the one who made her for you, he can fix it in like five seconds."

"Made what?" Po asked. He pried Lei Lei off of his chest so he could see her face. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and now there was space between her and her father, she clutched at her Tigress figure with both paws.

Po saw what the problem was—the tip of Tigress' tail had snapped off.

"Uh oh," Po said. "Lucky for your mother this isn't a voodoo doll! Ha ha..."

Neither one of his kids laughed. "Eh... y'see, it was a joke about... never mind."

"Not funny," Lei Lei snapped. She looked down at her figure and the tears escaped her eyes.

"Aw, Lei Lei, don't cry." Po put her down so he could take the doll from her and examine the damage. "Don't you worry at all, it's just a little hinge that snapped. I can make a new one and a new end of the tail before you know it. I'll even repaint her, she'll getting a little dull, huh? Think she wants a makeover?"

Lei Lei shook her head, sending tears flying all around her. "No," she said in the stubbornest toddler voice. "Want her the way she was." Opening a fist she'd made, she revealed the lost tail tip. She handed it over to Po and looked up at him expectantly.

"Okay, you got it." Po winked at her. "And don't worry. You don't have to be upset if she breaks. I'll fix her. These things just happen sometimes!"

"Yeah, but this didn't 'just happen' though," Bao said. Lei Lei flipped from upset to furious.

"Shhhhh!" she said, and flapped her palms in his face.

"What do you mean?" Po asked.

"Well," Bao said, "it didn't happen by—"

"Shut up, Bao!" Lei Lei hissed.

"Accident, one of the girls who's been—"

"I said—!"

"Picking on her, she pulled it off."

Lei Lei went still. Tears kept slipping out of her eyes.

"Lei Lei..." Po had no clue where to go from here. He spent a painfully long time gathering his thoughts before he simply said, "Is what Bao said true?"

Lei Lei looked at the doll in his paw instead of him.

"Yeah it's true," Bao said. "I heard her start screaming from way over in my class. She totally freaked out."

"How..." Po didn't know where to start. "How long's stuff like this been going on?"

Bao looked up at the sky in thought. "Well... I told mum a couple days ago, it's pretty much since we came here."

And this day took a sharp left into Nightmare City. It was rare for Po to get angry, but at that moment he wanted nothing more than to make Lei Lei tell him exactly who had been tormenting her, and who had broken her doll, so that he could drag the little bully all the way up to the top of the Palace mountain and dangle her over the cliffside until she promised never to mess with his daughter again.

But that wouldn't be a very honourable thing to do to a junior schooler.

He looked at the ground between him and Lei Lei, trying to come up with a decision. After all, Tigress wasn't around, and he wasn't going to interrupt her today, not even for this. He could handle it.

He turned to Bao. "Buddy, head on to the restaurant, okay? Lei Lei and me are gonna hang back and talk about this. We'll come down soon."

Bao sighed. "Alright."

He tumbled off down the road, bouldering past the kids and mums that were unfortunate enough to be in his way.

Po knelt down on one knee and leaned over. It didn't make much of a difference to his overall height but at least his face was a little closer to Lei Lei's.

"How come you didn't tell me or your mama before?"

Lei Lei's face turned red. She started fidgeting with her fingers, so Po handed her doll back to her—or tried to. She refused to take it.

"...Was it because you felt embarrassed?"

Eventually she nodded.

"Oh, sweetheart... there's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. It's not your fault this girl's been such a jerk to you! Do you understand?"

A fresh batch of tears welled up in Lei Lei's eyes. "But it is my fault. They all keep poking me and taking my stuff 'cause I'm different. I'm a big fat panda, and I can't do anything about it."

"Is that what they told you?" Lei Lei nodded quickly this time. "Well, they're wrong. They're totally wrong. They're not messing with you cause you're different! They're messing with you cause they're too dumb to understand that you're just like them. After, y'know, being a panda, you're just a girl like them. You like playing, and dress up, and having your doll with you. Just like they do. So you're not really 'different' at all! Isn't that right?"

Lei Lei looked up into his eyes again, finally. "...Yeah."

Po smiled down at her.

"But... I keep trying to make them stop, and they won't. I told the teacher, she didn't do anything. What can I do?"

Po stroked his chin. "What do you want to do?"

Lei Lei's eyes widened. Clearly she didn't expect Po to ask her that. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before deciding on an answer. "I wanted to leave. Stay home every day. But that was before. Now... I wanna be like you and mum, and beat 'em up."

She scrunched up her nose like Tigress would when she put her game face on, and struck a kung fu pose before punching Po's belly a couple of times.

He chuckled; her tiny little fists were ticklish. He let her perform a short routine on him before gently taking her paws in his own. "I get why you wanna do that, Lei Lei. But you know you can't, right?"

Her face fell. "Why not?"

"Cause you're a lot bigger and stronger than those girls. It's not what your mother or me would do, it wouldn't be a fair fight."

"I don't feel big or strong," Lei Lei said quietly.

"I know."

In an instant Lei Lei was yelling. "How do you know?! You're really big, and really strong, and everyone likes you! You're a hero and no one can ever hurt you! So how?!"

She stomped her feet a few times, and only just stopped herself from having a full toddler meltdown. Even if she had, Po would've let her. Maybe getting all this frustration out of her system was what she needed.

She looked up at him, and Po was impressed that she still had tears left to cry. But mostly, the way she was looking at him was breaking his heart.

"Cause when I was your age, they did mess with me too. And it was for the same reasons. Cause I was bigger than them, I was clumsy and slow. They were super mean to me. And this was before I met your mum and the Five, before I learned kung fu or made any friends. I couldn't fight back, so you know what I did instead?"

Lei Lei stared up at him, totally riveted. "What?"

Po smiled. "Nobody liked me at first, but that didn't matter. I figured something out—I could make them like me! I asked your goose grampa for extra ingredients from the restaurant, and I made cookies—lots and lots of them. And they were really really good. I gave them to all my classmates, except the bullies. And you know what, they got so jealous. They stopped being jerks to me so I'd feed them too." Po winked at his daughter. "I'll tell you the truth, I never really did make friends with anyone at school, but it was a lot better after that."

Lei Lei stared at him like he was a genius. "So... I have to make cookies like you did?"

Po shrugged. "You could, but you don't have to. I know you're not super into baking. Hey, you like drawing, don't you? And you're really good at it! Why don't you make nice pictures for everyone except the jerk who broke Stripy Baby and her friends?"

Lei Lei looked down at the figure Po was holding, thinking hard. "Someone might break her again still."

"She's brave, she doesn't care about that risk. She goes to school with you to protect you, remember?"

Lei Lei frowned. "But I don't protect her."

"That's not your job, pumpkin. You're still a little girl."

"Nuh uh. I'm bigger now."

Po held the doll out again, and again Lei Lei didn't take it.

"She stays home now," she said. "I won't let her get hurt again."

Po didn't know how to react. A lot of him was confused. This morning, moving heaven and earth couldn't have made Lei Lei give this doll up. Now, he was proud Lei Lei was so willing to let go. But it was a big step for a little girl.

"If that's what you wanna do with her, alright then." He looked down at the tiny tail piece sitting on his palm, and held that out. "How about you keep this little piece? You can hide it in your writing brush case, and in a way, Stripy Baby will still be with you when you go to school."

Lei Lei stared at the piece, then eventually picked it up in her little claws and slid it into the front of her waist sash for safe keeping. She rubbed the tears off her face, messing up her cheek fur as she did. Po gently brushed it back into place with his thumbs, and she gave him an adorable smile.

"Okay."

"Okay," Po grinned. "And if anything else ever bothers you, you can tell your mother or me, remember that. We won't ever think you're being silly, I promise. Now c'mon, pudding's waiting for us!"

Po held his paw out and Lei Lei quickly took it. With the promise of pudding in her ears, she was the one to lead Po along to the restaurant. Which was great—it helped to hide how the simple walk down the street was leaving him breathless.

xxxxx

Once they passed the restaurant's threshold, Lei Lei left Po's side and skipped to the bowl waiting in her spot. She hoisted herself up onto the seat beside her brother, who was slouching over the table surface and idly mushing his pudding around with a wooden spoon. Po couldn't see the granddads, but from the smoke and smell of burning wafting out of the upper floor windows, he guessed they were still hard at work trying to find anything that might help his condition.

Po ducked into the kitchen and grabbed a pot of food, even though he had no intention of eating it—the idea of eating was messing up his stomach. He came to sit by his kids and placed the Tigress doll on the table next to her owner.

Looking carefully, he could see it really would've taken him no time to repair it. He glanced up at his much happier daughter, and his son.

Bao looked sullen. Po would've guessed he was feeling tired if his knee wasn't bouncing up and down at Mantis-level speed, making the table vibrate.

"Hey, wind it down, buddy! Did you sneak some sugar cookies into your lunchbox again?"

"No," Bao mumbled. "I'm not hyper. I'm just bored. School is boring."

"Really? I thought you liked it."

"I like my friends. And sports. But class is boring. The teacher's always telling me 'be quiet', 'stay in your seat', 'don't throw that, you're going to break—oh no, see, look what you've done! One week's detention!!!' School sucks."

Po knew it wasn't appropriate to laugh. He stayed as composed as he could. "It's important stuff they're teaching you there. I want you to try and focus a little more, okay?"

Bao stuck his lower lip out. "If it's so important, how come mum never had to go to school? I wanna be like her and just learn kung fu, can't I do that instead?"

Po couldn't help but smile as he shook his head. "She didn't come down to the schoolhouse, but she still had to learn all the stuff you do. She just did it up at the Palace, and Shifu was her tutor. And back then he was really strict! You definitely wouldn't want him as your teacher, hahaha."

Bao frowned down at his bowl. "School sucks so much though. I got my report today."

"Oh yeah? Lemme me see it."

Bao sighed and leant down to tug some parchment from his schoolbag. He held it out so Po could skim the ink.

"Oh no... your grades went down!"

"Yeah," Bao said tonelessly. He slammed the parchment face down on the table and picked his spoon up again so he could keep playing with his food.

For the second time today, Po was stumped. The family sat in silence while Lei Lei ate and Po looked down at his food. He set his spoon down to replace it with the parchment.

"Hm... well, it's not the worst. Your music grade is still up there, looks like you're really taking to the zither, huh? But arithmetic, that went super down! You've always been good at that, what changed? Did your class start on something new?"

"Yeah, but it's not hard," Bao said. "Actually it's really easy. I hate taking tests though. They're a waste of time. The Teach said I'm totally the smartest kid in class, I just have to 'apply myself' more." Po nodded—he could see the teacher said as much in the comments at the bottom of the report. "But what's the point? When I grow up, I'm gonna be a defender of the people like you and mum. You don't need smarts for that."

"Actually, you do," Po said, grinning. "Lemme thank for a sec... picture a burning house. Four parents run to you, begging you to save their kids cause they're trapped inside. The first mum says she has four kids inside, the second says eight, and the final mum and dad say there's nine of their children and six of their nieces and nephews. You leap in and rescue twenty-six, did you get all the children?"

Bao stared at him like he was nuts. "Why are there so many in one house?"

"Focus, Bao! You've got kids to save! Did you get them all?"

Bao widened his eyes. "Uh... no? I gotta get twenty-seven?"

"Right on, hero! See, you gotta know how to use maths."

Bao threw his arms up. "Come on, that's super basic, I didn't need school for that."

"Alright, smarty pants," Po said, "how about this: a general has come to the Jade Palace for a diplomatic meeting. You want him to increase the guards at the local prison, so it's really important you don't offend him, but you have to look strong so he'll respect you. When he arrrives, how low do you bow to him, and what do you address him as?"

Bao shook his head helplessly. "I have no idea."

"You learn this in school," Po sang, earning a groan.

"I'll just guess, like, a waist bow, and, uh... 'my general'?"

"Not even close!" Po laughed. "The bow's too formal, the general's gonna think you're begging, and the address is something no one would ever say! In conclusion: the general thinks you're a big dummy, leaves without helping, and the reputation of the Jade Palace goes..." Po blew a raspberry and poked his son in the nose.

Bao giggled. "Okay, okay. Maybe there's some useful stuff at school. But most of it's garbage, and even if it wasn't, I can't focus on it anyway."

Po noticed Bao's shaking knee was still going strong. "Hm... you've really got a lot of energy, huh?"

"Yeah... Hey!" Bao said, straightening up in his chair. "I bet I'd find it easier to focus tomorrow if I was tired doing loads of exercise! Can we play ball, Dad?" He got up to stand on his chair and leaned over to Po hopefully.

Any other time, Po would've been all over that idea. But just sitting and talking like this was as strenuous as jogging, and there was no way he could handle something so fast-paced as a ball game.

"Eh... I'm not feeling up to that right now, buddy. Some other time." Po wondered if Bao would remember this lie.

"Oh. Okay." The little panda sat back down in a slump.

Po tapped his claws on the table, trying to think of something he could still do with his son, while he was still here. And it came to him.

"Y'know, I don't think that would help you focus anyway. You run around for two straight hours in sports class, and you have beginner's kung fu at the weekends, but you're never tired. I don't think that's the problem. I think you just need to channel your energy better."

"What do you mean?" Bao said. "I'm great at channeling energy! Did you forget I helped save you from the spirit world with my chi?"

"Nope," Po chuckled. "I'm never gonna forget that. But I'm not really talking anything mystical here—at least not directly. When was the last time you meditated?"

Bao looked up at the sky and tapped his chin as he thought. "Uh... not ever?"

"What... really? Not even back at the Panda Village?"

"Nuh uh. Grandma Panda always said eating was our version of meditating, hehehe."

"Okay, while I see her point, meditating's actually a really useful and important part of kung fu... I can't believe I never thought to add that to my classes..."

That was another thing that might be worth adding to his postmortem scrolls. He made a mental note for that, and got up off his seat. With difficulty—he stood up much too fast, and for a moment, the restaurant's courtyard was lost to him.

"Y'alright, Dad?"

Po blinked a few times, until Bao and Lei Lei's curious faces came back into his vision.

"Oh... nothing for you to worry about, kids. Don't worry." Po turned to Lei Lei. "Are you okay to stay here on your own, little one?"

Lei Lei took her Tigress figure off the table and hugged it.

"Just for a while. If you need anything, your granddads are upstairs."

She nodded. "I'll do the drawing."

"Good plan." Po gave her a thumbs up then turned to Bao. "Come on, buddy. We'll find a good spot and I'll teach you some meditation techniques."

Bao wrinkled his nose. "What's there to teach? It's just sitting with your eyes closed and doing nothing."

"Haha. I'll forgive you for thinking that, but trust me. There's more to it."

Bao huffed, jumped to the ground and followed his father out of the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyy, long time no see...?
> 
> I'm very sorry for the long wait, thank you for your patience ^^ we hope you enjoyed!


	6. Day 5, Part 2

_Po_

If he did say so himself, meditation was a perfect success.

At first, Bao was impossible. They found a quiet bank along a stream and sat down under some tree shade. Barely a minute passed when Bao groaned that he was bored. But Po made him sit up with his back straight and his legs bent neatly in front of him. He made him listen to the water flowing along, and the breeze stroking the leaves, then he made him breath slower and deeper.

Bao kept looking up at him, and every time he opened his mouth to ask what the point of this was, Po shushed him. Bao eventually sighed and turned to face the river instead of his dad. He closed his eyes and began to really listen.

By the end Po couldn't believe this was the same boy who couldn't stop fidgeting for one second before this. He took to meditating even faster than Po had, way back when Shifu first took him in as a student.

"I'm proud of you."

Bao's smile turned so big, he risked straining his cheek muscles.

Po got up and started climbing up the bank. "Come on, I'm taking you back to the restaurant."

Bao looked at the sun, which was close to touching the faraway mountaintops. "Aren't we going home? It's late."

"Sorry, forgot to mention. You and Lei Lei are staying with the gramps for tonight."

"Oh," Bao said. "Feels like we've spent loads of time with them lately."

"I think you're right," Po said. "Your mum and I have been trying to sort through some new stuff, it's kept us pretty busy." He looked down at his son, who was calmly trotting along beside him. "I'm sorry we haven't spent much time together lately. As a family and stuff, y'know."

Bao looked up at him in surprise, before giving his dad a reassuring smile. "Hey, that's the price ya pay to have China's greatest hero for a dad, right?"

Po frowned.

"No, really, Dad. It's okay." Bao pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. "We've still done stuff like that meditation thingy. It was cool to hang out with you for a while."

Po reached out and took Bao's hat off so he could ruffle his head fur.

"Hey, hey, don't mess with my 'do!"

They laughed. Po stopped and handed the hat back to his son. Bao looked up at him, still smiling brightly.

"I love you, Dad."

Po almost tripped. It wasn't that the words were weird at all, it had just been... some time since he heard them. Maybe that made it sweeter, or at least as sweet as love can get.

And nothing could be better, really. Not a 'well done' from Shifu, or the roaring cheer from a crowd of valley citizens. Po was amazed that he really needed anything else to survive.

If only love was enough.

But thank heaven Bao reminded him to say it before it was too late. "And I love you, buddy."

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

xxxxx

The kids were taken care of, all the chores were done, and there was one last thing on Po's agenda: a date.

And he was genuinely nervous. How many times had he taken Tigress out for a night, over their lives? As many as the blossoms on the peach tree in high spring.

It did make a lot of sense, to be as nervous for his first date as he was for his last.

And it was for that reason, too, that he was determined to make this perfect.

Po knew that for Tigress there was no such thing as 'fashionably late', that she would make sure she was at their meeting spot fifteen minutes early. He rushed, or... more like crawled to the bathhouse to spruce up so he could be the first to arrive.

He stood there, pseudo-casually under the hanging fruit, facing the evening sun as it prepared to dive behind the mountains. And as he stood, he tried to remember all the meditation techniques he'd just taught his son, as if he was an Oogway- or Shifu-level expert. But it was hard—there was a tuft of fur on his chest that he could not smooth down, no matter how many times he stroked, pressed, and straight-up yanked at it.

Eventually he couldn't stop a growl from leaving his throat. "Yep, the Dragon Warrior _never_ looks like he just rolled out of bed, nope, the height of professionalism over here everybody—"

"Who are you talking to?" Tigress asked.

Po almost fell off the cliff, which wouldn't have been the first time (wouldn't have been the sixth time either). He turned around to witness his wife's arrival.

"Oh, y'know, the spirits, as you know because I'm the ol' D.W. so I can commune with the... the..."

He lost every dumb thought in his head as he took in the sight of her.

She looked like an empress. And if anyone else was here with them right now, they would think nothing less. Her fur was glowing, it looked as soft as feathers, and she'd even trimmed it in some parts. And the qipao she'd chosen for tonight, Po recognised it as the one she had for the harvest festival a few years back. The patterns and the blue-green dyes on it were so intricate, it must have taken weeks for the seamstress to make. Tigress hadn't taken it out of the clothing chest since that festival—she told Po she didn't want to risk it getting dirty or frayed. She liked it too much.

But more impressive than her fur or her outfit was the look on her face. The smile she gave him made Po feel like his age had just been cut in half. For the first time in a long time, she looked perfectly serene. And in the place they called home, with its mountains and trees and sunsets, that smile was by far the most beautiful thing.

The smile widened at Po's brainfreeze. Tigress looked down and gestured to herself. "You did tell me to freshen up. And if I am anything, I am certainly an obedient wife."

Po opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, to remind himself how to speak. "I... I know you being my wife isn't the reason you 'obey' me."

Tigress' eye crinkled at him as if he'd passed some secret test of hers. "Good." She held her paw out.

Po took it in his own and bent down to press her knuckles to his lips. He kept her eyes on hers as he pulled back. "You are... totally stunning, haha. Remind me again why you're married to me?"

He saw Tigress' eyes widen and her mouth hang open for a moment, before a determination settled over her face. "Because you're the sweetest, strongest, and generally most... awesome person I know. Not to mention how handsome you are! And don't you dare doubt it again."

She glared at him as if challenging him to deny her words. Po knew better than to do that, so instead he chuckled and tugged at Tigress' paw, leading her to the cliff edge the way he'd done a thousand times before. He sat down carefully and let his feet dangle over the drop. Tigress perched down next to him.

"I never get tired of this," she sighed. Po glanced at her and saw she was staring out into the sunset, the light setting her eyes on fire. He followed her gaze and hummed softly. It was the only thing he could do. Any words he said might just tarnish this moment. Together they watched the great red sun sink into the mountains miles and miles away. 

Time seemed to move so fast. One minute the light was there, the next it just... wasn't.

Po felt Tigress shift closer and lean her head on his shoulder. He twisted his arm out from between them so he could slip it around her back. And he leaned over as well, so he could rest his head on hers.

They stayed there watching the last tendrils of sunlight vanish, and the stars appear all around them. As the night cooled, they came closer and closer together to keep warm, until Tigress had looped her knee in between Po's, and the point of her ear was tickling his neck.

"So," Po said, once all the stars had arrived. "What do you wanna do now? The night is all yours."

Tigress hummed in satisfaction at his words, but didn't offer any suggestions.

"We could go for a walk. Or a boatride—I already asked that pig with the extra wide gondola if we could borrow it."

Po could feel Tigress smile, but she still didn't reply.

"Or... hm, what else..." Po muttered. "I guess... did you want to go hiking? Or, bamboo hopping?" Hopefully she didn't. That last thing was one of her favourite training exercises, to leap between the tops of bamboo canes, using one paw at a time. But it needed drive, strength, and finesse, three things Po really didn't have anymore.

Tigress shifted against him, and thankfully answered, "No. I don't want to go. It's perfect here."

Po couldn't disagree. He turned to kiss the top of Tigress' head, then went back to leaning on her.

"Let's stay, and talk," she continued. "We haven't done that for a while."

"You're right," Po said. "I'm sorry," he said more quietly.

"I'm sorry too. For before as well."

Po would've shook his head, but it would've meant hitting Tigress with his jaw so he refrained. "You don't have to apologise."

"I do. Thank you. You've always been the first one to make amends." Her voice tightened around those last few words. She cleared her throat. "I think the pregnancy has already started to change how my mind works."

"You won't change," Po said. "And even if you did, I'd still love you."

He felt Tigress' silent chuckle on his chest. "Your faith is almost as precious to me as our children. Tell me, have you been thinking about the baby?"

Po took a slow breath before he answered. "Haven't stopped thinking about the little guy. Or girl."

"What would you prefer?"

"It doesn't matter to me. Doesn't matter to you either, right?"

"No," Tigress confirmed.

Po let another silence stretch out before thoughts rose up in his head, of things he needed to say now while he had the chance.

"Thought about any names?"

A tiny sound came out of Tigress' throat at the question. "It hasn't been born yet. Don't you think that's a little early?"

"No... maybe?" Po said. "But... wanna think through some ideas right now anyway?"

Tigress tilted her jaw up so she could look into the Milky Way above them. A few moments later she answered, "You should name it if it's a boy, and I will if it's a girl."

"Okay, I can roll with that. Any girl names?"

Po felt her gaze flicker over to his face. "I think your mother's name is beautiful."

Po's eyes darted down to meet his wife's. "R... really?"

"Yes." Tigress smiled at him, but the smile faded after a few seconds. "Do you think Li would mind that?"

"No, no... I think he'd be thrilled." With the arm that was looped around her, Po gave Tigress' waist an affectionate squeeze. He stretched his palm out so he could gently press it over her stomach. Which didn't feel different at all, not yet. It was strange to think that right this second, there was life growing in there.

"And do you have any boy names?"

Po looked up to stars, the same way Tigress had when she was thinking. "Er... well, there's loads of names to choose from, and I'd like one that comes from the panda tradition, but... Ling, Chao, Min, Jianhong... they're all taken by my relatives already. This kid should have a unique name—oh! He should be called Po!"

Tigress smirked at him the way she would when he found himself thrown out of the dojo's obstacle course. "Reminder: you are called Po. Rare but not unique."

Po stiffened up. He didn't view his words as a mistake. The name would still be unique if there was just one live panda with it at a time.

Tigress noticed his reaction. "Though... if that's what you want. It's fairly common to pass a name on... I'll call him Junior until he leaves home, to avoid confusion."

She wouldn't need to. Leave it to Tigress to plan so far ahead. What would the kid even look like once they were old enough to move out? Po would have to see that from heaven, if that was possible.

This was too much. How could he be okay with never once seeing his family again, even just for a moment?

"Po?" Tigress called softly. She brought one of her paws to his chest.

Maybe he had time to change things.

"Your heartrate just went up, are you okay?"

Po said something in reply, though he had no idea what. It felt like his ears had been filled with cotton.

He thought he heard Tigress say, "Are you sure?"

Maybe nothing could change how he was going to die. Maybe that was inevitable. But maybe he could do something, something that meant his family wouldn't completely lose him.

If Tigress kept talking, she might as well have been on another mountain, because Po couldn't hear her. The sky turned black. Po brought his free paw up to rub at one of his eyes. His arm felt like it was passing through river rapids instead of air.

Was it possible... maybe, before he died, he could talk to someone. Someone like Oogway. Maybe there was some chi practise, or something, that could let him come back, as a ghost? Or a vision, or a projection...

He didn't want to go.

But he felt his sense of balance flair up a warning, and air shift across his face. Tigress suddenly returned to his senses, clinging tightly to his side, and yelling his name.

It was enough to make him realise he was passing out.

_No, no, I can't be out of time yet!_

No matter what he said to himself, it didn't stop what was coming.

Just before he lost consciousness, Po realised he and Tigress had slipped off the cliff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheheheheheh
> 
>  
> 
> *cliffhanger*
> 
> Ehehehehehhehehe


	7. Day 6, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: unbeta-ed, pardon my grammatical lapse (3431jess)
> 
> This chapter will give you a little background, character and motive of our OC - Qiang.
> 
> Next chapter's snippet is on my Tumblr: 3431jessica

Regret was far too much a vile word in the warrior's dictionary, as Shifu dubbed, "learn from mistakes, don't regret them." There was always reason or cause behind every action; like the wise word of Master Oogway - _there was no accident_ ; whether good or bad, and the journey it took would eventually taught him something. To be regretful was disingenuous, for at the time your action was justified, even if only in your own mind.

But at the moment, Po did  _regret_  his mistreatment of his family, how long had he been  _abandoning_  them. Not that Lei Lei and Bao dressed like a tramp or skinny and malnourished. But what he had done effectively had caused them to endure the same suffering - mentally deprived of the nutrition of love and attention.

Po knew the sign was always there. How much Bao had misbehaved, how much Lei Lei had resented school, and how much exhausted Tigress looked, now that he had time to look at them. Too often he had simply brushed off those symptoms, thinking they were just a petty domestic struggle that eventually would go away if he ignored them long enough.

Until he was given a deadline to reconsider his life's focus - what was truly mattered: family, friendship, love…. and  _time_  to enjoy them - which ironically he didn't have.

"He is sobering!" said a voice.

"Po?" a soft, feminine query followed by a light touch on his cheek eventually brought him back to the realm of the living.

Taking several blinks to clear his vision, Po saw three pairs of concerned eyes looking back at him.

"Dads? Tigress? W-what's going on?"

Instead of an answer he got a clouded expression crossed his father's face as he spoke. "Po, we are going to take you home. I have given Tigress some herbal concoction that would help you…..to  _restore_  your strength." His morose mannerism suggested that it wasn't the cure.

The tiger next to him bit her sorry smile before offering him the cup. "Here, careful it's hot."

Something smelling putrid with equally rancid color danced inside. Bracing for impact, Po held his breath and swallowed the content in one go. Thankfully, it wasn't tasted as bad as it looked, and within less than ten minutes, he could sit unsupported. As invigorating as it was, Po knew….the relief was only temporary. He was just buying time. Buying extra hour and minutes before finally his end claimed him. And as much as he had tried to cover the symptom, Tigress would eventually knew.

The effect of the medicine seemed to make Po drowsy. Leaving her husband to rest, Tigress went downstairs with Mr. Ping and Li Shang.

It was then two streaks of pure energy flew at her.

"Kids! Careful!" came the raspy voice following two balls of black and white that entered the restaurant courtyard.

Too late, at least one of them hit her like a charging bull. "Mommy...Mommy...Mommy!" they chorused.

"Curse my old age," Shifu emerged right after.

Tigress felt her eyes, embarrassingly welling up with tears as soon as she heard Lei Lei's piping voice. In a moment like this, her children were the source of strength and steadfastness that she needed.

"Hi Darling..." she said, bending to capture her panda daughter in a hug.

"Where is Daddy?" asked Lei Lei, looking behind Tigress' shoulder.

"He is upstairs, resting," Tigress said, choosing a short, simple enough explanation for her toddler to understand.

"What happened to him?" asked Bao. "Is it… serious?" Obviously, Shifu had told them something had happened, and considering how late this was, it must've been something bad. Next to Bao, Tigress could see her adopted father cleared his throat, whirling around so that no one couldn't see his stoic mask began to crack.

"He is just a little bit under the weather," Li Shan supplied solemnly, a heavy sigh betrayed the calmness of his voice. Fortunately, it wasn't something Bao able to detect.

"Oh…" Bao breathed, sweeping his sight to the rest of the adult, completely intrigued to see how despondent everyone was.

"I suggest that I have them for the night," the authoritative voice of Shifu interrupted. "Perhaps Mr. Ping could help me to take them to school and supply them with breakfast tomorrow? I am not particularly… fond… of going to see other parents."

"And I'll take you and Po home," Li Shan decided one-sidedly.

Tigress was about to voice her protest when she heard her father in law mentioned, loudly, in the background, something about pregnant woman wasn't allowed to overly exert herself.

"Agreed." Shifu's eyes were just as hard.

"Come here, you two. Give me a kiss and a hug before you go with grandpa Shifu," Tigress said. She dropped to her knees and they clamored over. For once, she appreciated Shifu's poor parenting skill for inadequately cleaned the cubs. Despite already wearing their sleeping robe, Lei Lei and Bao still smelt like school ground mixed with sweat and dumpling. Her heart twinged. She didn't particularly want to spend an evening away from them, but she knew they wouldn't need to watch the tragic reality that was unraveling in front of them. And having a mental breakdown in front of her children wasn't a vision she wanted to turn into reality either.

* * *

After an hour of battling his way home that felt like eternity, Po was laying on his bed. His panda dad was snoring in the living room, his figure sprawling on the couch, tongue lolling out, a trademark pose of panda deep sleep. Li Shan had insisted to stay after helping Tigress taking him home, arguing that letting a pregnant tiger to deal with a heavy weight, bedridden panda was another name for disaster. And they didn't need another drama. Not now.

Beside him, Tigress laid with her eyes closed. Breaths steady and audible, her back facing him.

Somehow after five years of marriage, he had learned to decipher her troubled posture even without her saying.

 _Five years_ …. Man! Where those years went by? Had he known this stripey girl that long? It felt just months ago he arrived at the door of Jade Palace, desperate to see his hero being crowned Dragon Warrior. It felt like weeks ago she obliterated him in the Training Hall as a punishment for barging into the bathhouse when she was inside. It felt like yesterday he told her how much he loved her, and she countered by saying "Then, what are you waiting for? Marry me!"

Po refrained to chuckle at that thought.  _Tigress_ , his brave, stoic, no-nonsense wife. She was never an ordinary woman, and marrying a girl who could wield a sword better than kitchen knife would mean his home never be conventional household. But she had made him the happiest panda alive. Of course, there were days their marriage confronted with the storm of trial. But eventually as time permitted, he discovered that her love and dedication were proven far more than his! She had acted in ways he could never repay.

Despite her passion for the art, Tigress had willingly given up her career as a Kung Fu Master: cutting down her training to look after the family, so that he could take up the pedestal - fulfilling his calling and destiny as China's mightiest hero. Not only that, Tigress had quietly plowed through the mundane housework while juggling various responsibility she still had with Jade Palace. How long had she suffered in silence? Po had no idea. With that he made his resolve to do the right thing - to make sure she knew that she was always loved and appreciated even after he'd gone.

His eyes traveled to the picture sitting on the alcove in their room. Picture of him, Tigress, Lei Lei and Bao, smiling from ear to ear as their embraced each other. His heart lurched in his chest. There they were. His children, his family, the true fabric of life. How could he be so blind to not to see?

And Tigress…..she hadn't speak since their trip from the restaurant. However, Po was certain both of his dads hadn't told her much, even his goose dad, despite many percepted him as talkative and the source of rousing gossip, he always be discreet in mingling with his son's household matter. Mr. Ping would've known his boundary, and  _this_  was never his story to tell.

"Tigress?"

A weak 'yes' answered him.

"I have something to tell you."

After a heavy sigh, he narrated that wishful day he met his the masked rouge that had left him counting his days.

Po saw the momentary surprise in the her fiery eyes before it disappeared beneath her usual cool mask.

"Is that why you have been acting strange for days?" She wasn't accusing him, but the sense of betrayal on her tone was undeniable. "To tell me, out of the blue, that Qiang is a good man for me?"

"Yes."

Tigress thought her days of having a divided, angst-ridden heart were over when she married Po. That she finally resolved one for all her love-hate relationship with Shifu, her complex feeling towards her deceased brother Tai Lung and she finally could live a simple happy life. Apparently, she hadn't gotten that one right.

Po certainly remembered how he casually suggested Tigress to hook up with Qiang. Thinking about it again, he could imagine how hurtful it must be for her to have her own husband instigating her to have a romantic relationship with someone else - It almost sounded adulterous.

"Look, Tigress. I'm sorry I didn't say this earlier. I… I just don't want you to worry about me. Especially in your…  _delicate_  condition. And I'm sorry if I sounded dictative or intrusive with your personal life recently. It's just… it's just I want you to have someone who is reliable and trustworthy by your side."

Tigress raised her brows at that. She didn't know the situation was as  _that_  bad.

"How long do you think you have?" She visibly swallowed at the end of the question, perhaps internally dreading for the answer.

"A couple of days," Po replied. He was being optimistic there. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether he would survive tomorrow, so he decided to get everything out of his chest while he had the chance.

"There is some money under the bed. It should be enough for the children's schooling until they are eighteen. I also already make them scroll for you to read on they birth…-" His voice broke, and he could feel the tears resurfacing. The image of his children, celebrating their birthday without his presence was too much for him to bear.

"Who had done this to you?" She addressed the ceiling but her manner of speaking conveying a silent message he understood all too well. She was angry.

"I don't know…" Another heavy sigh escaped his lips. "Well, it doesn't matter now. But I want to use the rest of whatever time I have left to make things right with you."

She turned to him. Despite her stern mask, her fiery eyes misted with tears. There seemed to be a lot of things she wanted to say, yet she found no words suitable enough to represent them.

Po understood her mental dilemma all too well. Tigress had never been the one who was eloquent with words. She was a creature of action, of tangible things. She expressed her feeling with the things that she did and not the words she said.

In the contemplative silence, he erased the distance between them and she waited with baited breath to see what he would do. His plush body cushioned her toned one from her side, his hands coming up around her to entwine with her smaller ones on her stomach. His chin propped up on shoulder and he released a deep breath, the tension in his body melting away, and she felt her own body perfectly curve into his.

"Thank you," he spoke, so soft that no one but her could hear him. "For whatever you've done for me, for our little family, Tigress. I… I'm sorry I didn't say this often enough..."

He could feel a sob climbed on his chest. It wouldn't be long before emotion consumed him. He had to get this out fast. "I love you, Tigress. I really do."

There was no words fell from her lips. Tigress only regarded him with a little somber smile he almost never seen on her. The intimate silence they share is no less significant, where words aren't necessary, where just being in each other's presence is enough.

Po took a deep breath. Could Tigress raised their two….well, soon three children without him? Sure he wasn't a dependable husband. As his responsibility eating up his time, Shifu and his dads had replaced him more frequent that he care to admit. But, at the end of the day, when all the laundry was fold, dishes cleaned, toys tidied, and just both of them in the silent house - he was the one who thank her for every little things that she did for their family, he was the one - the  _only_  one - who could say how much she was loved and cherished. Well, he supposed, he had to train the children to say that to their mom after he was gone.

"Thinking about the kids?" came Tigress' voice as though he had spoken his mind aloud. Perhaps, after so many years together, she could well be hearing the inner voice in his head.

Po gave her a weak nod. He could feel Tigress' callous paw stroking his arms up and down, what he perceived as a comforting gesture.

"Don't be. They'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Yes, this was his Tigress, not just any feeble-minded woman. She was strong, unyielding and always seemed to take every punch thrown at her like a real champion. And Tigress was right. He had no reason for his unwarranted worry. Their kids were smart, polite and sensible. When given the right guidance, they were certainly well behaved and would grow up into a well-respected individual. Of course, they didn't have everything they wanted, but they had every love they needed.

"Now you just concentrate on getting better, kay?" Tigress struggled to hold up every word. She tried to drive them out as neutral as possible, even though her heart was like being ripped out of her chest and her eyes were burning with unshed tears. Despite Li Shan's optimistic statement earlier, she had a bad feeling he hadn't found the right antidote yet.

"Have a good rest, Po. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

* * *

_Three years ago…._

It was a warm end of summer when the Kung Fu council once again held their annual conference in Gongmen. In the occasion like this, came the rare chance for a raising star like Qiang to expand his horizon and meet the other maestros on the field. And at the moment they were filling the area to do a free-style sparring session.

Unfortunately, the star of the show that he'd been wishing to see wasn't here.

The Dragon Warrior.

Instead, in his place was a slender, attractive looking tiger with hypnotic auburn stripes. Qiang retracted his begrudging self when he saw the tiger entered the arena accompanied by a small red panda named Master Shifu.

_Boy, she got an excellent curve._

At least that what he implied when her hips moved in natural gait as she glided across the room to greet another Masters. The golden qipao she was wearing did nothing to hide how tight her figure was, and if she was that good in her Kung Fu uniform, he could only fantasize about how she looked without one.

His gaze dropped lower and he swallowed. Her back addressing him, and from his vantage point, her butt looked cut out of stone. The layer of her silk trousers pressed tightly, taunting him to peel it away and taking a bite of that...

 _Gods...stop that!_  He rebuked his inappropriate thought. Whoever she was, she was sure inspiring reactions in him he had never felt in her thirty-three years of his life.

Yet, here he was, ogling a Kung Fu Master's butt, a stranger's back, and the hormones inside him were roaring for release. As though his mental voice had been screaming loud enough for her to hear, she stilled for a moment before whirling around, her curious glance appraising him.

"I'm Tigress." She placed her fist on her palm and bowed. "A Master from Jade Palace," she said before meeting his eyes. "I believe we have never met." The corded muscles of her neck and shoulders literally beckoned him. His claws itched with the need to feel that stripy fur.

He stunned again looking at her eyes flick in unconscious grace, how could she carry herself with ease among the testosterone overload residence of the Council?

He released his breath that he had been unconsciously holding. "I am Qiang, a member of Kung Fu Academy in Shenzhen." He smiled, gave his leg a push and landed with such athletic grace that could easily match hers.  _She looks even more gorgeous up close,_ he thought as his eyes managed to steal a glance after bowing.

She didn't blink, brows slightly drawn together, her expression was inscrutable although his cat instinct could detect something dangerous lurking underneath. But hey, people said women often acted opposite to their inner emotions - hate translated to love and hostility meant fondness. So, her slightly detested frown might not be a bad thing, right?

Milking what he suspected as a few smitten moments, he offered. "Tea?"

"Thank you." She accepted politely.

He managed to feel her skin when their paws touched. Her palm was rough, like she was used to doing hard work with them. He was piqued, which was a feat considering women everywhere have been trying so hard to win his attention, but she did it so effortlessly. He couldn't really miss the opportunity.

"Would you like to spar with me, Master Tigress?"

And that was just the beginning.

* * *

Tigress was never be a friendly creature. Hugging, smiling, high-five-ing even accepting a pat on the shoulder in a friendly term weren't her thing. All these corny actions she considered unnecessary…  _embarrassing_  even, well, used to. Since Po crash landed in the Palace courtyard, she began to question her personal vendetta against all things sentimental or mushy.

Then, Qiang, the tiger she met last year during the Council meeting appeared on Jade Palace's door, requesting an exchange program for the time being since there was more than enough Masters resided in his province. It was basically asking a permission to stay in Jade Palace - indefinitely.

Shifu was reluctant, but Po had embraced the opportunity of having a new confidant without even thinking - so typical of him. Monkey used the word  _welcoming_ , but Tigress would use the word  _gullible_.

During the three month induction period, everyone warmed up to Qiang, while she accepted him but remained vigilant. After so much pressure from Po, she then had relented considering Qiang was awesome and fun under all his macho, broody crap.

Rumour had suggested that Qiang had been a B-list celebrity before, in his province. More famous for his good looks and borderline cavalier behavior than any redeeming characteristics. Then, Tigress had done some research on him when Shifu show her his profile. She'd found a mixed bag of opinions about the suave tiger: women seemed to think he was charming, sexy… but careless and often overly ambitious. And men were fond of him, it seemed, but distantly… or were they afraid? Who knew.

But her suspicion was proven nothing but a fragment of her delusional pessimism - perhaps that, or Qiang was an excellent actor. Since he joined, despite his flirtatious inclination and habitual invasion of personal space, he had proven to be a reliable, skillful and most important… trusted confidant.

They became good friends, and Tigress had learned to decode his cue and tolerate his bad joke.

"This… makes me nervous," Qiang said one day. His smooth and charming playboy armor in place. They were both out for a short mission and Tigress had bumped into, Chin, one of Qiang's ex-colleague from his previous academy. "Ignore anything she tells you about me," he said to her. "It's all the ravings of a madwoman."

Chin sniggered and Tigress shook her head. "What makes you think we were talking about you?" Tigress asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Qiang lifted his mouth in a smile and dodged the question. "It's called cool-dude-super-senses."

"You are being deliberately obtuse."

"Hey, I failed out of college and then joined the Kung Fu Academy," he said in defense.

"Not all Kung Fu Master is dumb. There are more to Kung Fu than just raw power," Tigress disagreed.

"I take that as a compliment," Qiang grinned smugly.

"We are actually talking about a Kung Fu Technique, called the Golden Whisper. Master Rhino mentioned it to us," Chin supplied, returning back to the topic.

"The move Shifu taught me last year?" Qiang threw a questioning look at Tigress.

"Yes. He told me an idiot can easily learn it," Tigress remarked with her trademark bluntness.

He barked out a laugh, his eyes dancing with mirth. "I tried not to be offended."

But her sarcastic inclination didn't put him off, quite contrary, it kindled his resolve and made him desired her more.

However, a bitter pill of reality stood in front of him.

Tigress wasn't single. She was married to the renowned Dragon Warrior. But Qiang wasn't going to let that ruining his plan to earn Tigress' affection.

_If there is a will. There is a way._


	8. Day 6, Part 2

Contrary to his panda nature, that sleep came hard and tough for Po. Or if he could, his brain decided to wake him up at the unholy hour of the morning. He felt much better after another dose of his father's herbal concoction.

After a few time tossing and turning in bed, he was planning to get off, perhaps, get something done since he didn't have much time, but a pair of toned legs resisted him.

"Where are you going?" asked Tigress' sleepy voice.

"Err…. doing something…?" Po replied. "I don't want to waste my time. Since I couldn't sleep, I may as well…-"

"Surprisingly enough, even I occasionally have too much on my mind to sleep around indiscriminately." Tigress answered just as quick. No more sleepiness in her voice and her eyes no longer dull. "You can stay with me."

"Stay with you?" Po echoed, one brow raised. "In bed? To do what exactly?"

"Yeah,  _stay_  with me...in bed," Tigress repeated, but this time her smile gave a strong hint what kind of activity she was referring. "To do something we haven't done for a while," she whispered seductively. Her husband's eyes darkened, and his paws had found their place somewhere around her body.

Seeing him so unwound made her realize her feminine power, relish it.

"Only if you feel you are up for it," she conditioned.

"But what about the baby?" he said spontaneously.

She shrugged, her impressive back muscles flexing in a way that made his mouth water. The stripes on her shoulder beckoning him to feel it. Po swallowed and pulled back his paws, fisting them under the blanket. It's ironic to remember the fact that the woman he lusted after was his own wife.

"If he or she had your panda's robustness and tiger's resilience, I am sure a little intrusion wouldn't hurt."

He paid attention to the quick way she drew in breaths, how she liked to be held. He remembered, suddenly and with startling clarity, some of the sounds that exploded from her lips when they moved together, how her body had been then. And a long time ago, they used to do this on a consistent and regular and extremely fun basis. That was before work, children and other responsibility swallowed him whole.

"Tigress," he mumbled, his heart swelling with emotion.

"I'm here," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He cupped her face and brought his lips to hers. Her lips were warm and plush against his, moving with him, following his lead. The desire that he'd carefully tamped the last week and a half surged forward once more. His hand reached to the neckline of her robe, revealing a tantalizing strip of skin on her back. Then, easing his paws over her shoulders, he pushed it down her arms, causing the fabric to fall once gravity took over, and the robe pooled at her feet.

xxxxx

After a moment of lust induced exchange slowly dissipated, they sprawled on the bed, loosely wrapped around each other.

"That's… it's been awhile since  _that_."

"Indeed," Tigress sighed contentedly, closing her eyes, pressing her naked body next to him and indulging his warmth. "I'm surprised your father didn't wake up considering all the copulatory noise we made. We are a bit out of practice there."

Po barked a laugh at that. "You've underestimated the intensity of panda sleep."

"Or Shifu's lesson on stealth mode had really ingrained in him."

He laughed again.

A loud exhale escaped her lips. "I am going to miss you dearly, Po. Not just doing  _this_ , but everything else," she said, voice thick with emotion. "And I know no one couldn't dictate how long one shall live, but no matter what tomorrow will bring, whatever shall befall…  _you_  - will always be the love of mine."

She didn't open her eyes, but she heard his breath catch. It's more honest, emotionally, than they've been with each other for a while, and there's power, and vulnerability in the air. With one accord, neither one of them speaks again, pretending to sleep for the next hour, curled up in the big, soft bed in the master bedroom.

xxxxx

"What are you two doing in naked in bed?" came loud, familiar voice that Tigress used to hear yelling her name from down the hall.

"Sleeping," Tigress said, opening one eye. Her two children by the door. "How'd you two get in?"

"Turned the handle," Bao said smugly, while Lei Lei climbed over the bed and Po welcomed the rambunctious cub on his lap, his lips generously dispensing kisses and cherished his children, for however long he would be allowed to enjoy them.

"Didn't you lock the door?" Tigress asked Po, discreetly trying to wear her robe and passed Po's pants from under the blanket.

"Nope, I had  _other_  things on my mind." A seductive look cascaded down his feature. Tigress smiled, shaking her head.

"Why are you here?" She turned to Bao. "I thought grandpa Shifu and Grandpa Ping taking you to school." Speaking of the devil, her adopted father appeared by the door.

"Don't tell me you turn the handle too," Tigress said dryly. Shifu smiled. "No, the kids went through the front door. I am a Kung Fu Master. I leaped through the window."

"Grampa Ping accidentally set his kitchen on fire, so we haven't eaten breakfast yet. Then Grampa Shifu took us here," explained Lei Lei animatedly.

"Burnt?" Po's eyes went wide at that. His father must be so distracted even to allow his kitchen set on fire.

"Yes," Bao confirmed.

"Gosh! Is Grandpa Ping alright?" Tigress sounded worried.

"Yes, he is. He is just a bit upset to lose a few of his favorite cooking tools. And the kitchen was completely gone," explained Bao.

"Now he's got an opportunity to build it from the ground up," Po said. "Imagine, a kitchen with door and ceiling to accommodate panda height. I think I'll choose to be excited about that."

Tigress stared at him like he was demented.

"What?" Po defended. "It's called positivity, Tigress."

"I should've seen that coming," Tigress muttered before smirking. "Okay, everybody out. I will fix you breakfast."

"Why not Daddy?" whined Lei Lei. "We missed his dumpling."

"Your daddy is a bit…  _tired_." Which was true, especially what they had done that morning exercise and considering Po's condition, it must felt like a marathon to him. Tigress bent and rewarded him with a light peck on his cheek.

"And for some reason, I am starving," Po added, grinning at her. "Morning  _workout_  had really perked my appetite."

He wrapped his paws around Tigress' waist and pulled her for another kiss.

For a rare occasion, Tigress was actually joining his game. Kissed him back deeply. "Your words, not mine."

"Are you two gonna kiss again? I'm hungry," Bao whined.

"Yes Bao, I am coming now," Tigress said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her sleeping robe still haphazardly worn and her fur was sticking messily in all direction - not that she cared. And honestly, she didn't feel like leaving Po - not now after she knew they had very little time left together. But, breakfast wasn't going to make itself, right? She headed towards the bathroom, briefly gazing at Po and letting a low growl. Po's lips curled up, positively indicating he liked the sound of that. Next to Bao, Shifu gawked openly, and his eyes began to twitch, perfectly complementing the shell-shocked look on his face. Although he knew whatever intimate exchange had happened behind the closed door of his daughter's marital bedroom years ago, he didn't want to be reminded of the mental image.

"Hey, are you looking out the window right now? Isn't that the new Dragon Warrior action figure?" Po supplied. Shifu, understanding the cue, immediately ushered Bao and Lei Lei out to the kitchen.

Crisis Averted. Momentarily.

"Ok, I think I will need to eat too," Tigress declared, coming out of the bathroom in her usual golden qipao. It was beginning to get tight around her abdomen. Not that she minded - it was a good problem to have.

"I'm hungry, but not for food," Po whispered to her after the kids left.

"Oh my god, you could not get more cheesy if you tried," Tigress laughed, curling on his lap and offered him another kiss. "But, I promise, after I drop the kids at school, you can have me for second round breakfast."

"Awww, isn't that sweet," Li Shan cooed. "You two are going for the big mushy romantic gesture!" How long had he been standing by the door frame was something Tigress didn't want to know about. Blame it on Shifu - perhaps he had taught Li Shan how to do stealth mode. Thankfully he disappeared as quick as he emerged.

"I was trying to seduce you," Tigress said after Li Shan left, this time shutting the door and window. Their kids' screaming vocals were dying to a more manageable level.

"Did you?"

"Yeah, by throwing you off the bed," she chuckled. Po snickered at that. Perhaps his dry joke began to rub on her. _Just about time_ \- he thought.

"Well... if I am going to die, may as well enjoy that as much as I can... Right?"

A faint knock on the door downstairs alerted them. Shifu was the first on the door to open it.

"Oh, Master Shifu, I didn't expect you to be here," Qiang said politely.

"I was just helping my son-in-law and my daughter with a little domestic arrangement. I presume you are looking for them?"

"Yes!" The Tiger revealed two bouquet of flowers and some fresh fruits. "I heard Dragon Warrior is not well. So I come by to check."

"That is greatly appreciated," Shifu replied, calling for Tigress and Po. "Oh, and don't forget you are supposed to be in Gongmen today. Master Ox has a highly confidential letter for me. He wouldn't trust just anyone to pick it up. You must depart as soon as possible."

"Yes Master," the Tiger bowed.

"Oh! Hi Buddy, thanks for checking on me." Po was grinning as he greeted his visitor.

"Hey, anytime. How're you feeling?" Qiang asked, giving the fruits and one bouquet of flower.

"He is not too bad this morning," Tigress piped in, smiling. Qiang handed the rest of the flower to Tigress, who couldn't resist the stereotypically female gesture of raising them to her nose and inhaling their fragrance. "They're lovely, Qiang. Thank you."

Po chuckled lightly seeing Tigress' out-of-character behavior. She realized his reaction and rolled her eyes. "Am I not allowed to be a little girly sometimes?" At the moment, she would like to blame her pregnancy hormone.

Qiang gave her a nod, the heat in his eyes belying the politeness. "If there is anything I can help, please do tell Tigress. It's not easy to have one of your family members to be ill, especially now that you need all the strength and rest yourself."

"I'll remember that," Tigress smiled."Thank you, Qiang."

The tiger placed his fist into his palm and bowed. "Till next time, Master Tigress, Dragon Warrior."

xxxxx

"Son, I am going to go to buy more herbs for you," Li Shan said, pulling a few stuff into his sack. Everyone had left to do their respective task. "I'll be back in half an hour," he promised.

As the old panda traversed the hubbub of the market heading towards Mrs. Ching's Herbal Shop, he noticed Qiang was there. Honestly, The tiger was near to the bottom of the list of people he was expecting to see, especially when he just eavesdropped their conversation and heard that Shifu had sent him to pick up some important message from Gongmen that day.  _What the hell he is doing here?_

Li Shang was about to strike a conversation with the Tiger, but something in his instinct told him to withhold his intention. As soon as the Tiger was gone, he approached Mrs. Ching, the old rabbit that owned the premises.

"Morning Mr. Li," she smiled. "The usuals?"

The panda nodded, but his eyes were furtively tracking the shadow of the Tiger as it moved away from the establishment.

"Isn't that one of your son's colleague in the Jade Palace?" she asked again.

"Yes, I believe so," Li Shan answered simply.

"He is charming and mysterious, isn't he? Also brave," she commented. If Li Shan wasn't on an important mission to save his dying son, he might want to argue with that. Despite Qiang's tenure and affiliation with Jade Palace had passed over a year, Li Shan had never fully trusted the hubristic tiger.

"Has he told you about this group of bandit he needs to take down?" Mrs. Ching said while her hands were nimbly collecting all the herbs and put them in the medicine sack.

Li Shan's brows knotted at that. "Bandit? What bandit?" If there was a benefit of being closely related to Master Shifu was that he would be one of the first few who knew of any criminal activity in the valley and its vicinity. Li Shan was quite certain there was no bandit in the past one week, not the one insanely powerful that Shifu had consented his students to employ a lethal poison to get rid of them.

The rabbit shrugged noncommittally. "I am not sure. But I made him my special herbal concoction that I knew could easily take a large mammal like him down in  _seven_  days! He said if he succeeded in his mission eliminating this bunch of rogues, he will…-"

"Wait," Li Shan interjected, his tone became urgent. "When did he buy this  _poison_?"

Mrs. Ching looked puzzled, but she decided to tell the panda. "Slightly over a week ago."

Li Shan began to rationalize all the fact. Why would someone want a slow acting poison to defeat a group of bandit? If they were proven to be a dangerous combatant, Shifu would've instructed his students to use a fast-acting and temporary paralyzing poison instead.

"I diluted the potion with matcha green tea to disguise the original color of the ingredient, making it hard for anyone to immediately deduce the components," she explained.

Li Shan blanched at that. He had been cracking his head trying to reverse engineer the recipe of the poison for days with no result! And the more he listened to her narration, the more it sounded like the poison that had inflicted Po to the state he was now.

The million yuan question popped into his mind. "D-does this poison….has a remedy?"

"Antidote you mean?" she said, even though she had completely lost the context. "Of course, I can try to make one if I can find the original recipe that stated the dose of each ingredient."

The panda released his breath that he'd been unconsciously holding. "How long will it take for you to blend the concoction?"

"Perhaps a few hour," she replied, tilting her head curiously. She saw unexplained affliction in the old panda's face. "What's happened, Mr. Li?" she said, reaching to his paw and squeezing it gently.

Li Shan looked up and met her gaze. "I promise I'll explain everything, but right now - someone very dear to me needs some saving."

xxxxx

Qiang didn't expect Po to last longer than this. Considering the panda was still mobile around his house without any help and able to perform reasonable amount of domestic activity - he would last longer than seven days.

But no, Qiang couldn't let that happen, he had to end things swiftly before any secret of his ugly conspiracy leaked out. Timing was a critical element in his plan. He had to balance between subtlety: not letting Po die immediately and raised a fervor in the valley, and precision: not letting his plan derailed longer than it was necessary.

Hence he returned with another dose of the poison. After anointing his blade with the green substance, he marched to Dragon Warrior's house.

As he predicted, the house was almost deserted - everyone was running their errands. But Qiang knew this golden window of opportunity wasn't going to last long. He had to seize the chance while it presented itself there.

"Po?" he said, letting himself in. "Sorry. I forgot that two days ago, Tigress left this in the Training Hall," he stated his reason. His hand deftly pulled a wrist binding that Tigress normally wore on her training.

"Oh, thanks," Po accepted it. "She has plenty of these. You shouldn't have troubled yourself to come back just to return this."

"So…," Qiang drawled. "How are things with Tigress?"

Po searched for the right word. "Fine."

" _Fine_?" Qiang echoed, sounding more incredulous that he intended to.

The start of a smile crept around the edges of Po's mouth. "More than fine. I'm feeling really good, Qiang."

"You are ill Po, how could you say you are  _good_?" the Tiger stared at him, perplexed.

Acknowledging Qiang had demanded more descriptive explanation, Po invited him for a cup of tea and some left over breakfast. A few minutes later, both of them sat on the settee, resuming their conversation.

"I may be physically ill, to be honest with you - I am counting days - it sucks, I know. But my unfortunate condition has helped me to put everything into perspective - what truly matters in life," Po clarified as he sipped his own brew.

"Weeks ago, I was pouring my life to protect the valley, to save China, to be a hero - while, unknowingly, I am losing the people dearest to me in the process. I was so consumed with hours of training, political correspondence and fighting bandits that I completely lost the plot - neglecting my children, my wife, my family, and friends."

Qiang responded with a huff. That explained why Po and Tigress had been attached at the hip lately. A familiar heated feeling of jealousy crept on the Tiger's chest.

"And for that lesson, I am glad whosoever the rogue out there that poisoned me," Po admitted in closing. "I had a chance to make things right before… it's too late."

"I see," Qiang said flatly. Both of them quietly drank their tea before Qiang prompted a question.

"What will happen to Tigress and your children after you die?"

His question was rude and blunt considering the situation, but Po discounted his brusque attitude and counted that as simply being honest.

"Tigress will return to live with Shifu, and she will share half the custody of the children with both of my dads," Po replied. "And Crane will overtake my responsibility as Dragon Warrior and the protector of the Valley."

"Seriously?" Qiang couldn't hide the incredulous intonation from entering his voice. Despite his disagreement over Po's candidate selection, Qiang decided not to press the matter further - he had a more important question to ask.

"I hope you don't take me the wrong way, Dragon Warrior. But do you think Tigress will remarry?"

Po's forehead scrunched at that, but he didn't question Qiang's intention.

"I encouraged her. I mean… I want her to be happy. But Tigress has convinced me that she'll be happier alone - at least for the foreseeable future. She has you and the five as friends."

"As  _friends_ ," Qiang repeated, sounding displeased.

"Yes, as friends. That's what she wants," Po emphasized, completely oblivious to the undercurrent between them.

"I am sure this is not what  _she_  wants. This is what  _you_  want," Qiang contended.

"I don't know where you get that idea," Po said, frowning.

"Oh, come on Po. Could you actually picture her with someone else?"

Po closed his eyes. Yes, it was hard to imagine Tigress - his Tigress, the girl that he had always admired as long as he could remember. The girl who kindled his love for Kung Fu. The girl that had inspired him to be better, to be the best version of himself. The girl that had captured his heart the way no other woman could. But he knew he loved her enough to let her go.

"Yes, Qiang. It's hard.  _Very_  hard. But it's not  _impossible_. And for Tigress' happiness, I'll do  _anything_ , including granting her wish - to remarry or to become a widow - it's all up to her."

The Tiger scoffed at that. "You are the hero of China - one that claims to be a noble, selfless figure - is greedy enough to even imprison your wife. You want her to stay yours forever, even to the grave, admit it!"

"What?" Po's voice involuntarily raised a pitch higher. "Qiang, how could you…-?"

"And the Dragon Warrior title - how could you even pass the responsibility to Crane, he was the weakest link among all of us."

This time Qiang's accusation hit Po's nerve.

"Look," Po raised his paw. "I know Crane wasn't the finest warrior compared to you, or Tigress. But it takes more than just fighting skill to be a leader. It takes maturity and wisdom."

"Ah, so you want to say I am not mature and wise enough?" Qiang challenged.

"Qiang! It's...It's not like that, I…-" But the Tiger wasn't going to listen to Po's explanation.

"Whatever it is that you're implying, you're going to need to spit it out, Dragon Warrior!" Qiang demanded. He rose up from his seat and pointing his claw at Po.

Po stood up, squaring his shoulder although his muscle hated him for it. "What the hell is your problem? This doesn't sound like you at all!"

"Perhaps that's because you didn't bother to get to know the real me, Dragon Warrior." His eyes lit up with challenges. "And  _that_  exactly what I am going to make you." He grabbed the panda's chin, twisting to face him, roughly. "I do get what I want. And starting now, I want everything that is yours, starting with her," he said condescendingly, darting his eyes towards the Po's wedding picture.

"Mark my word panda! Tigress and Dragon Warrior title are mine!"

xxxxx

After completing her short morning task, Tigress went straight back home. As she walked, the recollection of their date, the time they spent in bed this morning replayed in her mind. It's heartbreaking to think that those might be their last date, their last sex, their last kiss... and nothing she could do about it. "A dangerous thought, Tigress," she reprimanded herself, frustration making tears prick at her eyes. Tigress wasn't a novice in handling grief. She had lost enough people in her life to understand how to deal with its negative aspect. What happened to Po wasn't a tragedy, it was a blessing - a blessing that enabled him to realize how much he loved her. Despite Po's terminal illness, having his support, love and encouragement made it easier for her to accept whatever destiny had in store for her.  _Is that what people say - what can't break you make you stronger?_

Tigress went through the door of her home, expecting the house to be in about the same shape she'd left it in. What she got was quite a different story, it appeared, from the moment she stepped inside. The bamboo furniture in the living room had exploded all over the room and into the foyer.

There was also remnants of a snack being made in the kitchen and traces of something red. Sichuan paper maybe or… tomato paste? She'd investigate later. It was quiet, the kind of stillness that only came with everyone being absent from the house, or….

"Po?" Tigress called but didn't get any answer.

There was broken cups and teapot scattered in front of her bedroom, and evidence of blood staining the wall. Her stomach fell to her knee, and she suddenly felt anxious.

"Po!" She burst in, and her heart could've stopped at the sight.


	9. Day 7

"Po!" Her natural reaction was to rush to his side and checking for the severity of the damage. Judging from the fresh pool of blood on the floor, Po hadn't laid there that long, but enough to warrant a critically lethal situation - especially in his condition.

"Ti...Tigress…"

She halted her frantic movement when she heard his voice. Taking his paw in hers while regulating her distressed breath, she hauled him to the nearest sofa and tried to prop him in a comfortable position.

"Who did this to you?" she tried to be calm even when her insides were quivering like jelly, and she slowly moved forward. Instead of an answer, she only received weak smile as the life in his eyes began to dim.

"Po, you must stay awake," she patted his cheek vigorously, perhaps a little on the hard side, but at the moment she only focused on keeping her husband conscious. "Open your eyes! Stay with me," she urged.

When his eyes began to droop again, Tigress began to panic. "Po… Please, hang in there." She stood up and rifled through the kitchen to look for something that possibly could stop the bleeding.

"No, Tigress, listen to me," he rasped. "My time almost up, I had to…"

"No! I'm not listening to this," she quipped stubbornly. "I refuse to say goodbye. There has to be a way," she added, putting the appropriate amount of frustration in her voice for the situation.

"Tigress…could you? Please…-" he breathed out, his voice tainted with emotion. Not a question, but a statement. In remorse, sadness, and desolation, all in one.

His pleading voice finally put her in her place, and she parked herself next to him.

Tigress reached for her husband's hand, and he took it, squeezing it, taking what little comfort he could find in the gesture.

"We've said goodbye so many times, I thought we'll be good at it," she said, trying to hide the ache and fear that clawing its way up her throat. As a warrior, facing death was nothing new to her. She always imagined either one of them would someday die in the battlefield or during missions, but truthfully, nothing would prepare her witnessing her imagination transformed into reality.

_Please, hang on there Po. Give me one more day._

Suddenly the front door burst open and a black and white blur dashed in and stood by her side.

"Tigress!" the creature rasped between breath and pulled something from inside his pocket into her paw.

"Mr. Li!" she said, surprised.

Under different circumstances, Li Shan would've corrected the way his daughter-in-law addressing him. But now wasn't the right time.

"Mix this with hot water, now! We don't have much time."

Tigress shot a confused look that spelled out 'please-explain-what-the-hell-is-going-on.'

"The herbalist in town knew the antidote because she was the one who made the poison. Qiang bought it from her," Li Shan clarified.

_WHAT?_  Must be the perfect word that illustrated her incredulous expression. "Tigress, hurry, the antidote…"

"Oh, right!" she darted towards the kitchen and within minutes returned with the green concoction in a bowl.

"I'll stay with Po, you must stop that tiger," Li Shang told her. Tigress was about to say something else. Regardless her desire to bring the rouge to justice, she didn't want to leave Po's side, not at this moment when she felt like she could lose him anytime.

"Tigress," Li Shan pressed. "You must act swiftly."

She replied with a weak nod, quietly swallowing her protests. Her emotions were a hurricane, whirling around inside of her so that she didn't know which end was up.

"Go!" the old panda asserted when he sensed her hesitation.

Stepping away from her dying husband, her attempts to keep herself from bursting into tears were starting to fail. Mental exhaustion from coping with the ordeal mixed with pregnancy fatigue was setting in, and Tigress couldn't decide if she should follow Qiang or went to Jade Palace for assistance.

Naturally, it was raining outside. Because why wouldn't it be raining?

On the bright side, people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between raindrops and her tears.

Her mind still undecided on the direction she should be heading, but her instinct had guided her feet to the familiarity of Jade Palace. The journey wasn't long, but enough for her to contemplate about her life which basically had become some wild novel plot as of late.

Tigress knew her life wasn't perfect, but on the back of her mind, she was always thankful for many things that she had. Po's career progressed spectacularly, they had two wonderful cubs, and she still had a fraction of her time to pursue the Kung Fu training that she loved.

And today, here she was, fully at lost, with no idea how she was supposed to do react, how she supposed to face tomorrow with three children and a mental grief of losing the person she had loved with her life.

She would find a way, she  _had_  to find a way, but right now she was too tired and too emotional to form any sort of plan. She did her best not to dwell on the fact that she was facing a prospect of a life as a widower because ignoring her current reality felt like the best way to cope.

She saw the torturous stairs that led to the Palace's gate that flickered with light. Remembering her condition, she should've eased her pace, but instead, she took them three at a time because she's a badass.

By the time she arrived at the source of the light, the entrance of Jade Palace, she was soaked completely through and desperate for some reprieve from the rain.

"Tigress!" a feminine voice hollered as she went into the Hall of Heroes. "What...what happened?" Of course, Viper immediately noticed her untypical distressed demeanor.

Viper gathered the rest of the team and ushered her into the kitchen. Tigress took a seat at the counter and rested her head on her forearms, letting the sobs she had been trying to hold in finally wrack her body.

"...and I came here," Tigress sealed her story. She hoped Viper manage to capture the essence of her narration among tears and broken words.

"We must alert Shifu," announced Crane. "Viper, why don't you stay here and accompany Tigress, I will go with Monkey and Mantis to confront that Mr. Idiotic Stripey Butt."

Tigress would've laughed to hear Crane's vocabulary selection, but the emotional baggage and worry were enough to sap all the humorous fiber in her body.

She didn't know what happened next when she felt fatigue finally swallowed her whole.

* * *

_Tigress wandered aimlessly on the road, feeding her gaze on the dust that gathered under her feet, trying to subdue the rising disappointment in her chest from expressing itself on her already glistening eyes._

_How could she fail to do this? How could she - the girl who had mastered accuracy and precision, clumsily dropped the scroll and must've been picking the…-_

" _Hello Miss, may I help?" A voice distracted her brooding. She whirled around to meet a black and white figure that owned a pair of gorgeous jade eyes, staring at her with a bright, accommodating smile._

_She recognized him. He was Mr. Ping's assistant, or perhaps his relatives? Friends? She had no idea, but it's hard to miss another large mammal when there was only a handful of them in the valley._

" _Uh… nothing," she swiftly turned around after realizing she had been standing in front of the restaurant archway. "I'm sorry… I was just… thinking."_

_She was readying to leave when she heard him said. "I don't mean to pry, but seem like you could do with a cup of tea? It's on the house."_

" _S-sure," she said reluctantly without even weighing her option._

_Tigress loved Jade Palace, she loved training and dared she admit she was addicted to it. But after the incident today, the prospect of facing another wave of Shifu's wrath took precedence over her usual preference. Even the sight of towering apex of the palace roof made the pit in her stomach growing exponentially. A cup of tea may just be the trick to postpone the impending doom that awaited her when she was back._

_She strode beyond the entrance and sat down on the quiet corner of the courtyard. Po must've taken her notion as acceptance of his offer, disappeared behind the kitchen and returned minutes later with a pot of tea and two ceramics cup._

" _Thank you," she said, exhaling deeply after taking a delicate sip of her tea. She did feel better._

_He parked himself on the bench in front of her, eyes watching her with sympathy. "My Dad said there is nothing a cup of tea can not do. It's a perfect remedy to stress," he grinned. "By the way, I'm Po. You are?"_

" _Tigress. I am doing my Kung Fu training in the Jade Palace," she explained. "Shifu is my master and my adopted father."_

" _Oh… that Kung with a Fu thing? What is it actually?"_

" _It's a martial arts," she said evenly. "I can show you later if you liked."_

" _Really?" he said, looking impressed. "This is interesting, and I mean it in a positive way. I have never met a Kung Fu Master, let alone a female Kung Fu Master."_

_Tigress smiled. The way he looked up at her hopefully reminded her of a little bunny. He is adorable. She loves bunny._

" _So, is Master Shifu training you to be the protector of the valley? That is sooo cool!" his profuse words of flattery grabbed her attention. She watched as his grin stretched a fraction wider._

_But she replied his ecstatic declaration with a frown and morose stare._

" _Did I… did I say something wrong?" he said nervously._

_Tigress shook her head, sucking a long breath before telling the story of how she spectacularly failed a task that even a creature without any skill could do._

" _I.. I fetched the wrong crowds of people to defeat the bandit, and now there is no one protecting the valley," she sighed. "Shifu was furious with me. How could I possibly become the defender of the valley if I can't even do menial task properly."_

_Before she launched another self-deprecating rant, he suddenly stood up._

" _I just know exactly what you need to do," he exclaimed, enthusiasm had returned to his voice. He drank his tea deeply and wiped his lips with his idle arm before inviting her into the kitchen._

" _Co...cook?!" she stammered when Po tied an apron unceremoniously around her waist and paraded the ingredients in front of her. "But… but I can't… I never…"_

_Her fear was logical especially the one and only encounter she had with a wok was when she set Jade Palace's kitchen on fire and nearly roasted Zheng into an instant Peking Duck in the process. That moment she knew her career in the kitchen had ended prematurely, good thing she was raised to be a Kung Fu Master and not a chef._

" _Here is the recipe," the panda ignored her protest and handed a piece of paper nonchalantly. "It's very easy. Even an idiot could follow this."_

" _I try not to be offended," she responded wryly._

_He smiled amusedly at her. "First, combine the flour, dozen of eggs and water," he read out, measuring the flour and tossed the eggs into the bowl like a pro. "Now, you can try to mix it until they are even," he said, handing the bowl into her grasp._

_While he chopped the garlic with military precision, she examined the scroll that denoted the ingredient which most she had no idea how the corresponding items looked like._

" _Like this?" She showed him blended mixture._

" _Not that difficult, see?" he chorused. "Now, grab a little salt and pepper, and add to the dumpling mixture and knead it until it lost its stickiness," he instructed._

" _Lost its stickiness?" she repeated in confusion, staring down at the mixture that resembled more like building material than food. It remotely looked edible, let alone looked like dumplings._

" _Yes," Po replied from behind her._

_Here goes nothing._

_She psyched herself mentally and prepared to dive into the dough with her completely non-existent cooking knowledge. Although the instruction sounded vague to her ears, Tigress did as she was told._

" _Now, take the filling, put a portion - not too small, not too big, and wrapped it with the dough like this." He came behind her back, body pressing closely against hers._

" _Like this?"_

" _No...no," he said, guiding her paws with his and Tigress could feel her own elevated pulse under his touch. She held back a sigh at his warmth and scent, the feel of his strong arms, and how right the curve of his body morphed against hers._

" _That's it," he said finally. "Now you try one more on your own."_

" _Okay," she nodded, discreetly moved away from him to calm herself. Standing that close to him though, she felt a warm sensation in her chest that he was pretty sure was unrelated to the temperature of the kitchen._

_Had she had a crush?_

_Tigress shook her head, she had definitely been spending way too much time with Viper. She may have agreed for Viper to paint her claws or accompany her on girly shopping trips, but she was not some hopeless romantic who developed crushes on strangers._

_This is the kind of stuff that happened to people in fictitious tales, not in real life._

_But she agreed with Po - cooking its kind of… well… therapeutic, especially when she was allowed to channel her unnatural strength into the dough._

_Then, a loud greeting resonated from the courtyard._

" _That's must be my dad," Po said, heading out from the kitchen._

_Craning her head to the side to observe, Tigress saw Po approaching the crowd to hug an old goose with a funny looking hat. She returned to her baking endeavor, but her sharp hearing captured the energetic conversation outside._

" _Hi Dad!"_

" _Po! Have you prepare the noodles and dumplings for tonight? The restaurant will be open in an hour. Wait… who is that in my kitchen?"_

" _Ugh, sorry, that is Tigress. She was...uhm… passing by and I asked her whether she will like to try my new dumpling recipe."_

" _Does she know how to cook?"_

" _Er… maybe?"_

_Not long after, the goose went into the kitchen to inspect her work._

" _Hi… Master Tigress, right? I'm Mr. Ping, the owner of this renowned establishment," he said proudly. "I heard Po teach you how to make dumplings? Wait, don't use my expensive knife."_

" _Oh, sorry," Tigress flustered, putting the knife back into the drawer. "I'm Tigress, not a Master yet. And yes, Po has been sharing a few tricks of the trade."_

_She ducked down and showed them the product of her hard work. "And here is the dumpling," she said, pointing at the tray of uncooked delicacy. For a first-timer, her effort wasn't that disastrous, but for a restaurant standard…-_

" _It looks kind of….uh…. informal," Po said, seeking the right word. Taking the cue from the way Mr. Ping cringed, Po must've rephrased the first word that popped into his head._

_Instead of feeling offended, she shook her head and laughed, "Oh. I told you, I'm a disaster in the kitchen. Peeling potatoes might have been my limit."_

" _I don't mind the way they look as long as they taste divine," added Mr. Ping._

_After exchanging a little talk, Tigress went back to 'fix' her masterpiece while Po took the broom and went outside to sweep._

" _She is cute isn't she, Son?" Mr. Ping said, raising his tone a decibel louder just to make sure she could hear._

" _Shh… Dad!"_

_Tigress could imagine Po's mortified expression when he said that. It must've been priceless._

" _Po, I know you may not be the most handsome man in the village...since there is me, of course, but don't let your self-esteem stopping you in pursuing the things that you want."_

" _Tigress is not a 'thing' Dad, besides, we only get to know each other for a few hours. She is training to be the Dragon Warrior - the mighty defender of the valley. And I am just….-" his voice trailed off. "...anyway, she deserves more Dad..."_

_Tigress' stomach fluttered at his words and at the way his voice had gone soft on the last one._

" _Ok, fine...fine," Mr. Ping said, nodding his head before frowning and sniffing the air. "Is there something burning?"_

" _Dang it!" Po shouted, jumping to his feet and rushing towards the kitchen."Sorry Dad, I have to go, baking-related crisis!"_

_She must've been focusing too much on her eavesdropping venture not to realize her first batch of dumplings was nearly became a pile of cinder._

" _Tigress! Are you okay?" He pulled her from inside the thicket of the smoke into the courtyard. She was still coughing convulsively when she heard him apologize. "I'm so sorry. I hope I'm not traumatizing you."_

" _Don't worry," she said once she regulated her breaths. "The last time this happened I almost killed someone," she chuckled, and she saw him relaxed at her words. "This is kind of summarize my relationship with cooking - just like reading horror story - I get to the end and thought, this is not going to happen."_

_Her joke kindled a peal of laughter from him and she couldn't help but to smile back. There was something infectious about happiness on his face._

" _Oh gosh, your paws!" he pointed at the burn mark around her claws which she hardly noticed since her paws had gone so calloused and mottled from punching the ironwood trees._

" _Hey, no biggie," she said dismissively, but Po took her hand in his and gently cleaned it. "I have a bandage upstairs," he told her._

_When they got to his room, she glanced over at him. He was unlocking the door and he looked up at her with a small smile that made her chest do that weird thing again. "Sit here, and let me have a look on your paws. Man, Shifu will kill me," he muttered._

_Tigress chuckled. "I don't think slightly scalded paws will concern Shifu at all."_

" _Really?" he looked up to her while his hands worked on the bandage. "Because untreated abrasion like this will leave a permanent mark, and I would've guessed none of my girl-friend will like that - I'm not saying that you are my girlfriend - I mean girl-friend, not girlfriend."_

_And there was that new sensation again. A few hours ago, he had been a complete stranger. She barely knew him. He was an adopted son of a noodle maker and she was an exemplary student of Jade Palace. Someday, he would continue his father's business and she would continue her Master's legacy as the protector of the valley._

_He was just passing through her life._

" _Do you have other girlfriends?" she blurted. Had she just called herself his girlfriend? Oh, God. "I mean. Friends who are girls. Friends of the female variety with whom you don't flirt with."_

_Very smooth Tigress._

" _Ugh...Not really," he admitted sheepishly._

_She couldn't decide if she should be flattered he seemed to want to spend time with her because she was interesting, or a bit insulted he obviously didn't see her as having any romantic potential._

" _I managed to save a few dumplings for us to try," he announced, presenting her with a bowl with slightly deformed dumpling inside. "It is slightly on the crispy side I'm afraid," he remarked on the dumplings that looked a bit more tan than they supposed to. But at least they weren't charcoal just yet._

_She took one reluctant bite while the panda in front of her rubbed his palmed in nervous but excited anticipation. "How is it?"_

_His expression brightened watching her eyes widen in delight as her tongue peeked out to taste the batter._

" _Oh, this is… delicious," Yes, looks could be deceiving! "Po, you are remarkable!"_

" _Say to yourself. You made this," he said humbly._

" _Your recipe, you are just supervising me," she quipped, taking another bite. "Darn, I think you've ruined dumpling for me forever."_

_He chuckled. "Don't worry, I will retire as a chef as soon as my Dad gives me his permission to explore other pursuits."_

" _You don't want to become a chef?" Tigress said automatically. It was almost a tragedy that his talent in inducing gastronomical wet dream wasn't going to be put to use._

" _No," and for the first time in their conversation, he sighed. "I am still figuring out, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life behind the stove."_

" _Couldn't you just tell your Dad that you don't want to be a chef and occasionally help him instead? I mean, you don't want to be stuck doing something meaningless if there is something else you really passionate…."_

_He interrupted her with a laugh, "I can only imagine the look on my father's face if I tried to tell him that. I told you, there are certain expectations that come with the Ping name. It's only where the name doesn't matter to anyone that I can do whatever I want."_

_She felt sympathy towards him as he opened up to her. Sure, her life hadn't been very privileged and she had to work hard for every little opportunity she had. But since Shifu and Oogway adopted her, she was pretty much free to make of her life whatever she wanted. Sure, they were discipline and harsh at times, but they also provided her with an avenue to pursue things that she liked. No one constantly had eyes turned to her, waiting for the perfect moment to arise to capture an image that could add to the narrative they were trying to create about her. There was nothing driving her down a certain path._

_That's not true - The little voice in her head reminded her that in many ways she was following in her adoptive father's footsteps. That she wanted to prove to him, wherever he was, that she was a daughter who was just as good as him, a daughter he could be proud of._

_A daughter who was worth loving. Just like how he had loved Tai Lung._

" _Do you want to come again next time you are free?" Po's voice snapped her stupor. "The winter festival is on next week. I can do most of the prep, so you just have to assemble and bake everything."_

_She raised an eyebrow, "I thought we've established that I can't cook."_

" _Mmm," he reached for her hand and patted it gently. "You're not a bad sous chef as long as I give you tasks that are nearly impossible to be messed up," he teased before sounding a little more serious. "I have a lot of faith in you, Tigress."_

_Leaning on his bed, they were talking until the sundown, and she marveled silently at how comfortable she had become with him in such a short period of time. There were moments when she forgot they hadn't been friends for a while and that their path coincidentally entwined by two identical looking scrolls. She forgot that their lives were going in two completely opposite directions. It was uncharacteristic for her to make such quick connections with people but there was just something about him that made it so easy._

_Outside, the rain ensued its descend and pounded melodically on the roof. Closing her eyes, she could almost physically feel the stress that she had been experiencing for months, years, melt away with the water. Even if it was only a temporary relief, she was grateful._

_Her feet brushed against his leg, and she retracted them quickly, muttering, "Sorry."_

_He didn't reply, and things were silent for a minute, so she thought that maybe he had fallen asleep until he whispered, "Tigress?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _I'm glad you've picked the wrong scroll."_

_A small smile curled up the edges of her mouth and a response she would never have expected ever to say when she first saw Shifu's disappointment tumbled out, "Me too."_

_Tigress turned to see him, only to notice a smudge of cinder darkened his white cheeks. "Do you know how ridiculous you look right now?"_

" _I think you mean ridiculously handsome," he corrected, faux seriously, eliciting an eye roll from her._

" _So what are you going to do now? Are you going to return to Jade Palace?"_

_She bit her lip and contemplated what she should do. On one hand, she really wanted to put her training to use as it intended - to protect the citizen of the valley. On the other, she suddenly wasn't sure she had enough training yet. It wasn't like there was some magic insta-Kung Fu potion that she could use. She might have excelled in her overall training, but there were no guarantees it would be the case when she was faced with a real enemy._

" _You know what, Po. I think I'm going to go and face the Boar. Just like cooking - I won't ever know unless I tried, right?"_

_She expected him to at least showing some resistance, telling her how dangerous the Boar was, or suggesting her to bring a throng of reinforcement. But instead, he smiled and said,"...I know you can do it, Tigress."_

_It was exactly the confidence boost she needed. While Shifu had been cautious and calculative in his decision - in contrast, Po had spoken with his heart….and he had that quiet, calm reassurance radiated from him._

Tigress slowly opened her eyes when she heard a distant ruckus around her. But she immediately closed them again when her head was pounding with pain like someone had lobbed her skull with Dagger of Deng Hua.

Oh, she'd just realized that she'd been dreaming. One sweet, nostalgic dream about their first encounter, decades ago, when life was simple and carefree.

"Shall we tell her?" she heard Monkey said from outside the room. She couldn't tell whether there was worry lacing in his voice.

"No, not now," Viper's voice replied him from behind the obscurity of the door. Perhaps they forgot that she owned a cat hearing and the paper wall hardly concealed anything. "She'd been through enough today, just let her rest. We'll tell her tomorrow."

Her brain did a quick recap. A few hours ago, she found Po bleeding close to death in their bedroom. And then, in her moment of panic, she ran all the way to Jade Palace before collapsed into unconsciousness. There were a few sharp pebbles embedded on her paws courtesy of the village unpaved road, but she didn't care. She let that pain sizzle through.

All she was concerned about now whether Po had made through the ordeal alive.

Slowly, she sat on the bed, propping herself with her arms to restore the sense of balance. There was a part of her that wanted to get out of the room and confront the truth, but there was another part that wasn't quite ready yet… What if… what if he… didn't make it?

Pushing the dire thought aside, Tigress observed her surrounding and immediately recognized it was her old room in Jade Palace. The desk and her bed still at the same position, a few pictures of her and Shifu during her childhood still left hanging on the wall.

Her days as a student came back to her with stunning clarity, her first few years there - when Shifu adopted her, when she laid sore on her cot after a brutal day of training, and when the Five arrived on the Palace doorstep. Then, her hope was obliterated as the Dragon Warrior title slipped from her grasp, and she had to live years mending her broken dream.

She could laugh at herself if she reminisced the vehement hatred she had towards Po. It was childish. It was ridiculous. And one particular combative conversation between her and Po before Tai Lung's evasion came to her mind.

_"I don't know what your game is here. Ever since you've come to live with us, you have been polite, courteous and pretending to care about what I actually do," aggravated, she spread her hands, letting the words flow animatedly._

_"Tigress..."_

_His soft voice was the last thing she expected, especially after deliberately needling him like she had with insults she wasn't sure were completely true anymore. She looked at him, standing, looking more resigned than she had ever seen him._

" _Don't you know how much that Dragon Scroll means for me?" she resumed her anger-ridden rant._ _Knowing that he was one of the persons that knew her inner wants had made things so much worse._

" _Yes, I know," he sighed. "I'm sorry I took it from you, I didn't do this deliberately."_

" _And you told me that you are my friend?!"_

_When her voice had turned sharp and incredulous, suddenly his expression hardened and became the stoic mask she was unfamiliar with, but the tic in his tight jaw telling her that the words were getting to him. But she didn't care. She had waited months to let it out, and she was on a roll, the emotions inside her bursting after being suppressed for too long._

" _Because no matter what you tell people, I know you sure as hell don't care for me, and you sure as hell don't respect me - because if you do, you would've left! So, quit trying to be friendly, it'll just make living with you harder than it already is."_

_His eyes closed and he breathed in, before opening his eyes and looking straight back at her. The intensity of his emotions staggered her, made her pause. He took a few steps, closing the distance between them, the turmoil in his gaze touching a chord inside her. But she ignored it. Until he opened his mouth._

_"I'm sorry Tigress, for hurting you so much."_

_"You did not hurt me," she spoke, her voice trembling with her unshed tears, hoarse with the need to weep, but she spoke with iron. "You did not hurt me. You destroyed me."_

_She steeled herself, staring at rigid posture, his quiet eyes filled with a kind of hate she had never seen. Only she didn't think it was directed at her. Crane's words from an hour ago came back to her._

_'He hates himself enough for it.'_

_He was at the door, shaking, watching her with something in his eyes but nothing on his lips. No defense against her false accusations. No clarifications. No explanations._

Despite the strain on their friendship at the many junctures, she acknowledged that Po was the most important friend in her life and always had been. Yes, she had always had the Five, but for a long time, the only connection she shared with them was limited to the professional boundary.

" _Tigress, you should give him a chance,"_  she recollected Viper's coaxing words.  _"It's not like he had schemed took the Dragon Scroll from you, it was his destiny, Tigress. You must learn to accept that."_

And despite her feeling of animosity, in the end, she did try to accept him as her comrade.

For the first half a year since Po had crashed so unexpectedly into her life, they had slowly been moving towards each other without her even realizing it. Their mission in Gongmen was a beginning for a lot of things. She had hoped for nothing more than a tolerable couple of days with no lasting consequences of Po usual clumsiness and stupidity. Instead, he had completely destroyed the wall around her heart and turned it into something… else.

And regardless all of her fears over what getting close to him could mean, her desire to be intimate with someone for the first time in a long time overtook her when he had looked into her eyes. Unlike with everyone else in her life, when he looked at her, she knew there was no judgment - discounting mistakes she made in the past, and no expectations she was supposed to live up to.

He accepted her for who she was. And it was the most refreshing feeling in the world.

As days went by, they went on more mission together, trained together - and she began to realize how much he meant to her. And somewhere along the way, her feelings had stopped being truly platonic, but she wasn't sure when that had happened, but it was during one of those days that she realized she was falling in love.

* * *

"How is she?" Monkey intercepted the serpent as she emerged from inside Tigress' old bedroom.

"Conscious but very disorientated. I think the effect of the medicine Mantis gave her."

"Did she… say anything?" he asked again.

"No, but she cried when I told her Po is still unconscious," she sighed. When they first met, Tigress had been an impenetrable fortress, seemingly incapable of being hurt. It was odd to see her so broken and distressed like this.

"No offense. But I never thought the word Po, Tigress and crying belong in the same sentence," Monkey said. "Especially when it is Tigress the one who did the crying. Dramatic reaction normally Po's job."

In the past, Viper had been the observer to more than one snarky conversations between Tigress and Po. To his credit, Po mostly just took the abuse, only occasionally throwing back a one-liner or two that sucked the wind out of her sails.

She was easily one of Tigress' best friends, and while she was mostly on Tigress' side, she enjoyed watching the banter between them. And after Gongmen, that banter had lost a lot of its venom and was becoming more… flirtatious - and she could see the writing on the wall: Dragon Warrior was falling for his idol and vice versa. Just imagine Shifu's reaction when he found out!

Viper went to the kitchen, where Crane and Mantis sat around the table, appendage nursing a cup of warm tea. She couldn't help but chuckle when noticing the singed look on Crane's fur and Mantis' antennae.

"I take it he didn't go down without a fight."

"Nope. Of course not. Thankfully it was just a small explosive the size of a firecracker. We could look much worse if he were equipped with a cannon," Mantis commented.

"I smell like my kitchen the last time I attempted to cook, but other than that, I'm fine," Crane reported, brushing some ash off of his feathers.

"How did you guys bait him?"

Mantis shrugged, "We distract him with some flirty-flirt." While Monkey grinned and Crane's face turned red.

"Wait… what? You told Crane to flirt with Qiang?" Viper nearly choked when she swallowed a laugh.

"We went to Ms. Ling shop, and the only female outfit available was one that fit Crane," the bug explained. "The plan was to ambush him while he is… well… smitten."

"Shifu said, a great warrior and strategist have to have other methods in their repertoire than just putting the fear of God into people to make them surrender," Monkey quoted. "Besides, Crane looked quite seductive in his impersonation, and as long as Qiang has working eyes, he'll find him distracting."

Viper didn't even bother to muffle her laughter. "Crane? Seductive?" That would be distracting and disturbing in equal measure.

"I took offense on the surprise element in your voice," butted Crane, frowning.

"Fine fine… forgive me," Viper said between failing attempt to silence her desire to at least smile.

"And… how's that Mr. Striped Butt doing after the beating he received earlier?" Viper asked Monkey, who obviously had taken the honor of throwing the tiger into the dungeon reserved for the bandits they apprehended.

"He is also still unconscious. After nearly being roasted alive, Mantis was getting too carried away with his nerve attack. He nearly stopped that poor tiger's heart," explained Crane. "Actually for once, I will give him the consent to do so. But Shifu may get me suspended."

"Killing isn't my opening move," Mantis reminded him. "And it shouldn't be necessary. He stood no chance against three of us. And if we are lucky, Po can press charges for him to be imprisoned in Mongolia so he couldn't cause any more chaos in the future. I'm sure Commander Vachir will be glad to get a company."

"Doesn't seem too hard."

"Yeah, but first we have to wait until Po recover and then tell him to file the evidence of the extent of his injuries in order for the court to draw the fair verdict - which knowing that benevolent panda - he will refuse to do," Crane grumbled. "The likelihood is for Po asking the Kung Fu Council to terminate Qiang for breaking the Warrior Oath and prohibited to practice the arts until further notice. But he would forgive him."

"Your optimism is contagious," Viper had quipped. "However, I agree with you, without Po's willingness to stand as a witness - there won't be enough proof to incriminate him for anything."

"Bet me on 50 almond cookies, he'll pledge for Qiang's pardon."

* * *

After nearly a week that felt like centuries, Po's vital sign began to improve. According to the healer, the critical time was over (much to Tigress' relief), and it was just about time that he would regain his consciousness. Her memory recalled the night she found her husband in their home. There were signs of a struggle. A shattered china in the kitchen, a framed picture, fallen to the floor and also shattered. Tigress reminisced the feeling of her heart in her throat. She should've never left him alone and vulnerable. She knew her comrades had captured the rogue, but her blood still called for that retribution on a very primal level.

A soft grunt from the bed snapped her moment of contemplation. When she saw his eyes cracked open, all sorrow and fury were forgotten.

"I thought you were dead," she teased him, even though her eyes were tainted with tears.

"That's makes us two," Po grinned weakly back."How long have I been out?"

"Days," she replied tersely. It dawned on her that they were lucky Li Shan administered the antidote in time. They were lucky his slow metabolism meant the damage didn't spread as quickly. They were lucky there was no permanent effect to the poison. But even the fact that the culprit had been apprehended to the authority, she still couldn't quite shake the emotions that she had experienced.

"Tigress, you okay?" he asked when she became untypically withdrawn.

"Nothing. I was… I was just angry," she admitted.

"You have a right to be angry," Po commented gently. "And we will put him to justice he deserves, which is far more satisfying than revenge, I promise."

She huffed in frustration. She knew Po was right, but it didn't quell her desire to lob a certain spiky training equipment on Qiang's head. "I just don't want to turn into some spiteful, hateful, vengeful..."

"Tigress…." he reached over for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. She loved his paws. They were marked with callouses and yet still had soft spots, strong but gentle. Full of contradictions, they had the power to break bones but the tenderness to caress her cheeks when he tilted her face up to kiss her. "I have encountered a lot of spiteful, hateful, vengeful people over the past decades and you are nothing like them."

She looked up at him skeptically, and he squeezed her shoulder gently, "It's true."

Her anger was quickly transformed into guilt. She was the vigilant one, she was the voice of rationality in their relationship, and she was supposed to protect her family. And here she was, failing all her task miserably.

"Po, I'm sorry… I should've…-"

"Tigress, let's not start with apologies. There's going to be enough of those with me apologizing to you for the rest of my life," he sighed. "I was… I was so caught up in my work, being the Dragon Warrior, being Oogway successor, being the Master of Jade Palace and all that - and I forget the essence of life, the things that matter. Not until a week ago I began to reassess my life, my choice, and my priority. I knew what Qiang did was evil, there is no justification for it, but his action had taught me a lesson: that a lot of men want power, authority, and respect, but only a few understand families, and even fewer really know how to love them."

Her heart practically started glowing at his words. It was the validation that she had been seeking, the closure that she had tried to provide herself, and she felt so relieved.

She sighed and reached for his paws, pulling him in close, "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you. I've gotten used to not living this life alone."

"Well you would still have Shifu," he pointed out. "Although I realize he's not quite as handsome as me."

She laughed, perching herself on the edge of the bed, uncaringly threw one of her legs around his. She didn't miss the way that her husband's eyes zeroed in on her legs when the hemline of her dress rode up, the slit opening to reveal a lot of flesh.

"Like what you see?" she said with a low voice. There was only a deep growl as a reply, but the context of the situation was suggestive enough to express his inner thoughts. He slid his paws up her back, underneath her robe, and lightly dragged his claw across her warm skin while she cupped his cheek and planted a deep kiss, her tongue tangling with his.

The intense moment of make out immediately lost its magic when a voice chorused behind them.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Tigress is about to eat him," Mantis joked.

"Eating is normally Po's job. Has this role reversal thing become a new trend?" chimed Monkey.

"Tigress, don't tell me you are giving him a platonic kiss," Crane chuckled. For years before their romance was made official, Tigress had always used that phrase generously as lines of excuse. Platonic hug, platonic holding paws, platonic snuggles...But Crane was more observant than she credited him for. Friendship was a myth with she and Po, and it always had been.

Disentangling herself, Tigress glared metaphorical dagger towards her comrades. "Didn't you knock?"

"Tigress, this is an infirmary, not the ladies bathroom," Viper pointed out, grinning amusedly.

"Talking about food. I…-" and the loud rumble from Po's belly finished his sentence.

Holding up two bowls, Viper asked, "Dumpling or Bean Bun?"

His stomach grumbled, "Is both an option?"

"Both is definitely an option," she replied, walking over the bed to place both portions.


	10. EPILOGUE

The first few months after getting out of the infirmary Po had refused to take his clothes off. He didn't want Tigress to see what was underneath. Not because he thought she would be repulsed, but because he didn't want to give her another reminder of that horrible week.

But of course, he realized he couldn't hide everything forever. They were husband and wife after all. And it's been close to half a year since they last time they…-

"Are you ready for  _this_  today?" Tigress' voice interrupted his musing. She smoothed her hands across his back as he laid on their bed, her claws tracing over the scars on the part of his exposed skin which she had memorized.

He looked at her, finding her amber eyes staring at him with a soft look that he had seen her giving to anyone else except those she loved.

"Of course," he replied, smiling. Today was their wedding anniversary, and he thought a date would help to set everything back to normalcy.

It had been a long time since they had gone on a proper date since the cub was born, and while the nature of his and Tigress' job made it quite different than a typical date, it still felt a little monumental, and he was excited. A night spent some way that didn't put them at risk of being killed was a rare thing, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

* * *

Half an hour later, Po was leaning up against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his formal robe, and he turned his head when his wife walked out their bedroom.

His mouth parted but no words came out, and Tigress gave herself a mental pat on the back. Render him speechless, off to a good start.

Her outfit consisted of a sleek blood red qipao that bared a small slice of her skin where the two pieces failed to meet. The dress was her birthday present more than a decade ago, undoubtedly a little snug on the chest and hip section, but it was definitely a positive thing. It was quite a departure from her usual two-piece training outfit, and it was nice to dress up again. She was happy to just feel like a normal person.

They arrived in one of Valley of Peace posh restaurant, one that definitely could rack a bill as much as Dragon Warrior's annual income. Tigress had immediately appreciated the cream-colored atmosphere illuminated softly by dimmed lighting, their table situated in an alcove to give them some privacy.

The next thirty minutes was absolute bliss until Zheng emerged and informed them that their newborn cub puking profusely all over the Hall of Heroes, and Shifu began to lose his mind. On the positive note, Po got to keep his salary for the night.

They ended up spending the night at home, nursing a sick baby which according to Po could be somewhat romantic depended on how they looked at it.

Next morning, Tigress went out of the bedroom, fur ruffled in all kind of direction, yawning softly as she padded into the kitchen. Po smiled at the scene, fifteen years of marriage and she still took his breath away every single time he laid eyes on her.

"You were up early," she commented as she settled in at the table. Po was busily sauntering in front of the stove while their newborn cub already sat daintily on her breakfast stool, cooing happily when she recognized her mom emerging from her view.

"I got up when I heard her starting to fuss," he checked the time, "about 2 hours ago." He put a caressing hand on Xia's soft striped fur, and she gave him a toothless smile.

"Bao and Lei Lei?"

"They are still in bed. I doubt they'll wake up anytime soon considering last night Shifu took them to the festival until late."

Tigress parked herself in front of the table, stroking Xia's head and whispering good morning before peering to see what her husband was cooking. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"I've made your favorite," he said presenting a bowl. "Consider this as a makeup for last night failed attempt for a date."

She took a bite of her stir fry tofu and moaned. "Oh... So good. No wonder I agree to marry you."

He grinned. "I don't think my cooking skills are a solid enough foundation for marriage. However, I'm well aware your stomach is passionately in love with me."

"That could be a prophetic truth," she commented between the chew. "Although the first couple of years, I was nothing but a jealous jerk over that stupid Dragon Warrior title," she chuckled humorlessly. "...so silly of me."

"That's mean you are one very honest, direct person, Tigress. You don't sugarcoat the truth, and you speak from the heart," he said, now joining on the table "...and that's what I admire about you."

She was overwhelmed by the love and tenderness she read in his eyes. "Thank you for crash-landed on the arena that day. I know we are a changed person now since - but when I think…" she laughed softly, feeling emotional. "My life without you is just inconceivable now."

Po brought his knuckles to her cheek, caressing it softly. "I think everything we've done, everything that happened to us, led us to this moment. Even if I had never been chosen as Dragon Warrior, we would have found our way to each other," he finished in a whisper. "Some things are meant to be."

Po picked Xia and bounced the baby gently on his lap.

"What do you plan after breakfast?" she asked while washing down the food with tea, starting to feel more awake and alert.

He didn't answer, but his eyes did. As she poured herself another cup of tea, she was aware of his gaze lingering on her ass and legs. The fact that they had been married for so long didn't mean they were blind to each other's attributes. He was definitely aware of how attractive she was.

She smiled and whispered mischievously. "For the record, there are another person(s) in this house besides the two us. So, if s-e-x is what you want, you need to find a sitter."

Po grinned and looked at his daughter who perched on his lap and staring back at him with eyes twinkling with curiosity and adoration. "I don't think she understands  _that_  word yet. Hell, she perhaps won't have any idea what we are doing even when we left her in her crib."

Tigress narrowed her eyes. "You are unbelievable."

He laughed at the scandalized look on his wife's face. "That's Dragon Warrior for you."

"Shifu has scheduled for a morning drill for us today - I bet you forgot all about it," she noted.

Po groaned loudly at the reminder. "Oh, man!" As an exchange for babysitting Lei Lei and Bao last night, he had agreed to come for morning training and taught the class today. "Fine," he said with a pout. Tigress shook her head, biting her smile at her husband's childishness. At times like this, she often forgot that he was indeed the mighty protector of China.

After the incident that nearly took his life premature, Po was a changed man. He was still dedicated to his job and his title as the Defender of the Valley, but he won't reluctantly admitted if he needed help and immediately called for reinforcement. No matter how busy he was, he would always make time to bathe their children, tucked them into bed and took them to school. He was a perfect husband, more so a perfect dad.

So the adoration she saw in her daughter's eyes was earned and justified.

After a hearty breakfast, they headed to the Jade Palace - seeking for the much-needed babysitter in question.

"Let's see what torture Master Shifu has thought up for us today," Po muttered, picking up the practice scroll.

"I heard that Panda," Shifu remarked from where he was standing along the side of the Training Hall.

Tigress stood on her feet and rested her chin on his shoulder so she could see the list of drill Shifu had written.

"100 kicks, 50 backflips and 20 times around the training course. How exciting, all of our favorite sets!" she gushed.

Po scoffed and turned to face her, "Please tell me that was sarcasm."

She crossed her arms, "What? You can't handle it?"

He stepped closer to her and looked down into her eyes, "Are you questioning my stamina? Because I think you know exactly what I'm capable of handling."

"I thought the only stamina you have is in bed," she grinned.

"You'll be sorry you say that," he muttered. "After three children, I bet you'll be slower than me running the entire course. Not… that you ate them… of course," he mumbled self-consciously after looking down to the size of his belly compared to Tigress. Even her previous pregnancy hardly imprinted any trace on her tight figure.

"Ok," Tigress replied a little impatiently. "If I lose, I take your kitchen shift, if you lose, you go to that assignment in Jiangwen," she challenged, in which Mantis moaned in protest. While Po was a fun and amusing friend to be with, doing a mission in a remote village with him was bound to have more implication than solutions. The last time he was on a similar quest with Po, they missed their transport because Po was far too engrossed cooking for the entire village. And their boat only arrived once a week!

"Of course. With your luck, if you do the patrol in Jiangwen you'd probably get stranded somewhere and have a romantic adventure with a ruggedly handsome, small-town noodle maker. And we can't have that," he teased, eliciting sarcastic snort from her.

"Tigress! Po! The rest of us would like to get started with practice if that's alright with you." Shifu called out before dropping his voice to a mutter, "I was mistaken to think that things would improve when they are married…."

Po blushed when he realized that the rest of the team was watching them with various shades of amusement and annoyance on their faces, and hurried back over to the end of the Training Hall, Tigress right behind him. Adjusting his patchy pants, he watched as Mantis flagged a signal to start before throwing himself into the training contraption.

To Mantis' relief, the husband and wife competition ended with a tie. (No offense there, Po).

After the training, the rest of the team went for lunch, while Po decided to linger around his favorite room - the Hall of Heroes.

He walked past a door to the room that Shifu had reserved to be Dragon Warrior's office. The room was a lot tidier now, there were no piles of correspondence that screamed for his attention, there was no clutter of his supper bowls, and there was no trace of a man whose life had been solely enslaved by responsibility and obligation. It was sobering to think how easily he could have been stuck in his position if Qiang didn't attack him and his life never had never been hung on a thin thread like it did.

All because there was no accident - there was a purpose for everything that happened in the universe.

On his working bureau now there was a couple of paintings instead. A painting of him, the Five and Shifu at his father's restaurant celebrating the New Year, there was a picture of him and his two father and a picture of smiling Tigress hugging Bao and Lei Lei in her arms. And finally, there was a picture of him and Tigress, holding paw, in front of Gongmen bay.

He smiled thinking how far they had come from that day, when they were dancing around the feelings that were developing between them, unsure that anything was ever meant to truly happen between them beyond their friendship. And now he had expressed his feeling, and she had been given time to respond. Since the day they first met, he had always imagined a future with her, sharing his dream, having a family and growing old with her.

"Hey," a voice behind him beckoned. "May I come in?"

He smiled and nodded.

"What are you doing?" Tigress peered closer. "Walking down some memory lane?"

"Yeah, it's been the most impossible and dramatic experience," he said. "Some may not be the sweetest," he recollected the tragedy in Secret Panda Village and Gongmen Pier. "But I won't trade it for the world."

She smiled, touching his shoulder and rubbing it comfortingly. "Yeah. I mean, I like to think that the way our scroll was swapped wasn't just an accident, but the way that two people who were meant to be, but might have never met otherwise, got their chance. A story like that deserves a happy ending, and for five years after I left your restaurant, you came back again - although I wasn't the most supportive when Oogway inaugurated you as Dragon Warrior."

"Not the most supportive?" he raised his brows with mock annoyance. "You are bitter, Tigress! You kicked my ass constantly in the Training Hall."

"Hell yeah, I was a total jerk," she sighed. "Thank you for not giving up on me. On us."

He couldn't help but smile, pulling her closer to him. "Now you sound uncharacteristically sappy; you know that right?"

"That's a good sign we'd been married too long, some of this 'getting all emotional' business of yours has become mine."

His smile grew into a grin, and he pulled her in for a kiss.

They got a little distracted making out when Viper went in to tell them she'll be babysitting Xia while Shifu had Bao and Lei Lei for the rest of the day. But eventually, they made it back into their home.

That evening, both of them lazing around the living room to finish off their checklist for the day by reading a few correspondence and preparing Kung Fu material for tomorrow's class.

Half an hour in, his hand was on her thigh, and she snuck a glance over at him. He was seemingly completely absorbed by what was on the scroll but his thumb started stroking her skin. Turning her attention back to her own reading, she tried to pay attention to the content and not the slow torture that he was intent on causing.

She swallowed when his hand moved up a little higher a few minutes later and slipped underneath the bottom hem of the qipao she was wearing. A part of her wanted to swat his hand away until she was finished reading but the side of her that wanted him to continue his teasing won out.

"This is a fascinating Kung Fu technique," he remarked nonchalantly as if he wasn't making it completely impossible for her to pay any attention to what was going on.

"Mhmm," she mumbled as a sign of agreement, attempting not to squirm as his paw inched up further.

Finally, he discovered that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the qipao and his paw stilled, the faintest of groans escaping him.

Biting her lip in satisfaction that she had turned the tables ever so slightly on him, she looked over at him and commented on the scroll she was currently reading, "It is indeed so disappointing that Master Croc has to close the Academy for two weeks while he is recuperating."

He blinked at her, his paws still frozen in place between her chest, " _Tragic_ ," he added absently without understanding the entire context.

She wrapped her claws around his wrist, "We're probably at a good spot to pause our reading."

"Yeah. Just a quick intermission."

She snorted, " _Quick_  is right, you've had me ready for the past 45 minutes. I'm dying here."

"Sorry," he replied in a tone that was definitely not apologetic as she released his wrist so he could pause the reading before finally touching her where she needed him.

There laughed quietly, more vibration than sound, as they discovered each other, fumbling only a little before they found a rhythm that suited them both.

There was not much talking after that, just moans and sighs and whispered words of love and Tigress hoped every reincarnation of herself got to feel love like this.

After their "intermission," she rested her head on his lap, a blanket draped over her to finish reading her scroll. His claws combed through her fur, and she sighed in contentment. "Love you, Big Guy."

Her husband chuckled at the name before sharing her sentiment. "Love you too, Stripey Girl."

They both reflected on their life, the days behind, the present and the days ahead and they both understood - the most well-rounded heroes were those who had known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.

It made them not just warriors and fighter.

It made them survivors.

**Author's Note:**

> A collab between my friend Jess and myself :D we're round-robining the chapters, next one up will be hers again ^^


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